Semen Faibisovich

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

New York, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Semyon Faibisovich, 1990
New York, Museum of the Yeshiva University, Remembrance: Russian Post-Modern Nostalgia, September 2003-February 2004

Semion Faibisovich: Painting from the 1980s, Moscow: Regina Gallery, 2001

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has been quite recently painted and stretched. Although there are slight waves to the canvas in the corners, the stretching seems sufficient or could at least be improved adequately without changing the stretcher. Some cracking has developed in the upper center and also a little in the lower right corner. In general however the condition is beautiful and there seems to be no damage or restoration.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Having studied industrial architecture, Semen Faibisovich turned to painting in 1978. He was impressed by the work of the American Photorealist artist Richard Estes, which Faibisovich saw at the 1975 exhibition of American art held at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

Attracted by quotidian reality, Faibisovich depicts ordinary Soviet people in his photo-based paintings. While living in the gloomy expanses of a new neighborhood on the outskirts of Moscow, he spent many hours riding the bus between his home and the subway. During his commute, he would shoot roll after roll of film; these drab amateur photographs became the basis of thematic series of paintings, including Moscow Subway (1984-88) and Moscow Commuter Train (1985-91).

The Russian art critic Yevgeny Barabanov has argued that although art critics commonly describe Faibisovich's art as "Photorealism," the term is only partially correct. Barabanov has pointed out that "the foundation of Faibisovich's artistic analysis and reflection is not photography but photographic discourse." He has related Faibisovich's "nonphotographic" images of drunkards at train stations to the "dissident language of truth," noting that Faibisovich's photographic activities led on numerous occasions to clashes with the police and bystanders.

Describing his work method, Faibisovich says that he uses a slide projector to project the negative onto the canvas, permitting him to capture the general composition with great precision; he usually draws the rest by hand.

Many of Faibisovich's subjects are technically challenging and involve multiple reflections.