1972
oil on canvas laid on board
75 x 50 cm (29 1/2 x 19 5/8 in.)
signed, titled and dated on verso

PROVENANCE
Acquired by the present owner directly from the artist

Painted in the year when Vitaly Komar along with his fellow artist Alexander Melamid founded a movement that they called Sots Art, a unique version of Soviet Pop and Conceptual Art, the present image is a haunting depiction of the oppressive atmosphere of the Soviet era. The grotesque figure is depicted with a single all-seeing eye in the center of its forehead and with the right hand placed toward its mouth with one finger over the lips in a gesture of silence. To Komar, this image is an allegory that conjures up stories and meanings from the restrictive Soviet surrounding where he grew up.