YEVGENIY FIKS
Born in 1972 in Moscow, Yevgeniy Fiks graduated from the College in Memory of the 1905 Revolution in 1991. From 1991 to 1993 he studied at the V. I. Surikov Institute in Moscow. Fiks moved to New York in 1994, where he still lives and works today. He obtained a Bachelor in Fine Arts at Brooklyn College in 1997 and in 1999, a Master in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York.
KIMJONGILIAS A.K.A. “FLOWER PAINTINGS”, 2008
Kimjongilias a.k.a. “Flower Paintings”, a timely series of large format, lush oil paintings of hybrid begonias, refers to the flower associated with the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il. Every year on February 16, there is a Kimjongilia Festival dedicated to “Dear Leader’s” birthday where the flowers are expected to bloom. Although beautiful, these paintings bring the viewers to focus on the extreme manifestations of the cult of personality, totalitarianism and propaganda---highlighting the dangerous seduction of ideology.
SONG OF RUSSIA, 2005
"The Song of Russia" is a series of paintings based on stills from Hollywood films about Russia made in 1943-1944 at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to garner more support for the Soviet Union during WWII, and to change the opinion of the American public towards the USSR.
MAGNITOGORSK, 2012
Fiks’ series, Magnitogorsk Guide to the National Gallery of Art, are digital prints on metal document the absurd reality of the Soviet First Five Year Plan and its relation to the Mellon collection of paintings in the National Gallery of Art. By the end of 1931, masterpieces purchased by Andrew Mellon from the Hermitage Museum became the foundation of the National Gallery of Art’s collection. Proceeds from these sales contributed to the industrialization of the Soviet Union, which in turn, became the eventual ideological enemy of the United States. An adjunct performance by the artist, Magnitogorsk Tour of the NGA, took place on March 24 at the National Gallery of Art.