Ruben Monakhov

about the artist

Ruben Monakhov was born in Leningrad in 1970. He received his artistic education at the department of decorative graphics of the Serov Art School in Leningrad. As a member of the Union of Artists, he organized about ten solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group events.

But what can this really tell us about Ruben Monakhov? Any picture of him or any of his works can tell us far more. The artist’s biographic record would have been incomplete without knowing that Ruben Monakhov is the proud bearer of a wonderful curled-up moustache that harkens back to Salvador Dali.

Monakhov’s painting is as vivid as his looks. He creates bright, rich and pastose scenes, as when he paints a still-life where tomatoes and oranges are always found. Suffice to say, this vividness also radiates from the topography of his landscapes in Helsinki, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Bruges, Prague, Vyborg, Kronshtadt and, of course, Saint-Petersburg. However, the artist never paints the views of Petersburg favoured by the plein air artists. Is he toying with his audience, or is he really not interested in depicting the most beautiful places in the city? He paints the smoggiest cities on the planet but in his pictures they are drenched with sunlight. These unusual sun rays make the industrial constructions and tenement houses melt and their colours fade. In the frameworks of the painting traditions, Monakhov masterfully features his landscapes ‘in a favourable light.’ He can successfully turn a suburban railway platform into an Italian view.

Born in Leningrad, Russia.

Selected Group & Solo Exhibitions

2012 – Saint Petersburg – 2011, Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2011 – Depictimpressions, solo exhibition, Griboyedov Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2010 – I See It This Way!, solo exhibition, “100 Svoih” Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2010 – The Point of View, solo exhibition, Zero Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2010 – The Friendship, “100 Svoih” Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2010 – Flights in Dreams and in Reality, international exhibition-competition, “Na Kashirke” Gallery, Moscow, Russia;
2009 – December’s Scopophilia, solo exhibition, Zero Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2009 – May’s Scopophilia, solo exhibition, Selskaya Zhizn Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2009 – ARtMATURE, Bulthaup Design Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2009 – KunStart’09 (presented by Galeria de Arte Gaudi from Madrid), Bolzano, Italy;
2008 – Raum und Decoration, solo exhibition, Colourblind Gallery, Cologne, Germany;
2008 – Christmas Exhibition, Galeria de Arte Gaudi, Madrid, Spain;
2008 – Lineart’08 (presented by Galeria de Arte Gaudi, Madrid, Spain), Flanders Expo, Ghent, The Netherlands;
2008 – Art-Craft Studio “Barcode”, Mitki Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2007 – Cities. Etching, solo exhibition, Sholokhov Library, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2007 – Random Crosslinking, Selskaya Zhizn Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2007 – 170th Anniversary of Russian Railroad, Railroad Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2007 – About the Railroad, Books & Graphics Centre, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2007 – Red Circle of Constructivism, Jam Hall, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2006 – IV Saint Petersburg Art Galleries Festival, Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2006 – No Names, Griboyedov Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2005 – Endless Journey, solo exhibition, S. P. A. S. Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2004 –Spring Exhibition of Young Artists, Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2003 –Solo exhibition, Selskaya Zhizn Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2003 – Art-Craft, Alice Gallery, Bordeaux, France;
2003 – Art-Craft, Municipality of Bordeaux, France;
2002 – Art-Craft, Russian Public Library, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
2000 – 10 years on the way, Roerikh Art School, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
1993 – Young artists of Saint Petersburg, Izhorets Cultural Centre, Kolpino, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
1993 – Solo exhibition, Izhorets Cultural Centre, Kolpino, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
1993 – Solo exhibition, Dostoevsky Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
1991 – Exhibition of young artists, Leningrad Youth’s Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
1987 – A Part for White Piano, State Chapel on Vasilievsky Island, Saint Petersburg, Russia;

Selected Public and Private Collections

Erarta Museum and Galleries of Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia;
Colourblind Gallery, Cologne, Germany;
Private Collections in Russia, USA, Belgium, Germany, UK.

Portrait of Wife
2005