Artists' Statement

From Russia with Art
Freedom of Expression
We emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union, where governmental control over the arts was tighter, but public attention to the arts was greater. Working here, we experience almost complete freedom of artistic expression, but the public is largely indifferent to what we do. In order to survive in the Soviet Union, an artist had to obey the established ideological standards. Here, if an artist wants to earn a living from his or her art, he or she must create works that appeal to the public’s tastes.

Yefim Zhelezov stopped painting professionally after he came to here and now makes his living in other fields. This way he can create and exhibit more freely. Konstantin Simun, who was a member of the art establishment in the former Soviet Union and still sells his figurative bronze sculptures to a Russian museum, drastically changed his style after settling here but has had little commercial success. On the other hand, Katya Bessmertnaya found her fabric applique works appealed to the public, and she stopped working as a musician to focus on her art. Olga Schmuylovich and Nicolay Cherny continue to create basically the same art as they did in Russia, but here they exhibit more often and more easily. My survival rarely depended on art, so for me it was always art for art’s sake. Of course, there I could not exhibit what I exhibit here, but even here I cannot show everything I want in every exhibit.

Anatol Zukerman