Vladimir Ovchinnikov

Artist, sculptor, stage designer, one of the key figures of the Leningrad ‘unofficial’ art, Vladimir Ovchinnikov (1941–2015) was born in Shchuchye Ozero, Perm Oblast. Having received no formal artistic training, Ovchinnikov worked as rigger at the Hermitage Museum and assistant to painter and decorator at the Kirov Theatre.One of the founders of the famous underground art exhibitions at the Ivan Gaza and Nevsky cultural centres in 1974 and 1975, holder of the honorary title of Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation (2005), Vladimir lived and worked in St. Petersburg.

In Vladimir Ovchinnikov’s oeuvre, present-day phenomena are whimsically mixed with biblical and mythological narratives. His art comes across as a comprehensive semiotic system in which every object is a sign that does not, however, necessarily require decoding, as the contemplation of formal and stylistic aspects of his artworks proves to be equally fascinating.