Zoya Cherkassky

Markers and water color on paper, 21x30 cm., 2016
Courtesy of the artist and Rosenfeld Gallery

The artist's traditional art education in Kiev provided her with tools to create an accurate historical depiction. Following her immigration to Israel, she perfected her artistic vocabulary and created her own unique satiric style. She draws small, local scenes in which the figures evoke empathy with their simplicity and humane character.

Like a traveling agent in time, Zoya returns to visit her childhood in Russia, where she grew up in time of major historical changes. With meticulous detail, she portrays her childhood and the relationships between people in everyday life. Here too, her sharp self-deprecating humour is expressed not only in a style that corresponds with traditional Socialist Realism art, but also in the situation she represents: intimate moments in the school toilets and an opportunity for a forbidden smoke. The artist does not cling to her past, but she testifies to it.