Ilya Volykhine

Ilya Volykhine has been a full-time artist for over twenty years. Born in the Soviet Union, he is a citizen of New Zealand and Australia and a critically acclaimed figurative painter known for his work's poetic edge and subtle, absurd humour. His narratives explore the daily anxieties and quiet joys of human life through a loose, playful, and wonderfully chaotic process.

His accolades include recognition in the 2026 and 2016 Adam Portraiture Awards, the 2025 ILT Murihiku Art Awards, the 2023 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award, and multiple honours at the Walker and Hall Art Awards, where he has won for his figurative work. His paintings have also appeared in high-profile international exhibitions and art fairs, including Australia's Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Blake Prize, and the Jacaranda Drawing Prize. Additionally, his work forms part of the permanent Imago Mundi New Zealand Consciousness collection in Italy.

Although born in the USSR, Volykhine and his family have lived across the globe. He has held residencies and exhibited internationally in cultural hubs from New York to Estonia. Since relocating to New Zealand in 2009, he has exhibited steadily throughout the country in both solo and group gallery...

Commissions welcomed.

Open Edition prints of most works are available, as are larger Limited Edition prints. Please enquire directly.

Represented by:

ArtBay Gallery, New Zealand
Art Majeur, France
Art Rewards, Norway
Exhibitions Gallery of Fine Art, New Zealand
Flagstaff Gallery, New Zealand
Gallery De Novo, New Zealand
Saatchi Art, USA

AWARD EXHIBITIONS
2026 ADAM PORTRAITURE AWARD EXHIBITION, 21 May to 9 August - touring New Zealand through January 2028.
2025 ILT Murihiku Art Awards
2023 MOLLY MORPETH CANADAY AWARD, NZ
2021 WALKER & HALL ART AWARD, NZ
2018 WALKER & HALL ART AWARD, NZ
2017 WALKER & HALL ART AWARD, NZ
2016 ADAM PORTRAITURE AWARD, NZ
2016 WALKER & HALL ART AWARD, NZ
2014 NZ PAINTING & PRINTMAKING AWARD, NZ
2003 ARCHIBALD PRIZE, ART GALLERY OF NSW, AUS

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS, ​EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS, EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2023 IN PERSON, OBV GALLERY, MATAKANA NZ

2021 PUBLIC & PRIVATE, EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2020 SECRET MESSAGES, ARTBAY GALLERY, NZ

2019 A CAKE WALK THE PLANK, EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2019 MONKEY BUSINESS CARD, EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2018 MOTHER TONGUE TWISTS, ARTBAY GALLERY, NZ

2018 INHABITED, EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2017 PAINTED CITIES, ARTBAY GALLERY, NZ

2017 SHADOWS AND FOG, EXHIBITIONS GALLERY, NZ

2017 BOYHOOD DREAMS, KINA DESIGN SPACE, NZ

2017 THE FARCE, WAIHEKE COMMUNITY ART GALLERY, NZ

2016 EKSPERIMENDID, REMUERA GALLERY, NZ

2016 ATELOPHOBIA, PRINTING MUSEUM, ESTONIA

2016 GRASS GROWS ON MY TONGUE, KINA, NZ

2015 TOWN & COUNTRY, ART...