A Polar Bear Walks Into a Bar Painting

Citizen of New Zealand & Australia. Based in Devonport, Auckland, Ilya Volykhine is a critically acclaimed figurative artist hailing from New Zealand and Australia. Originally from the USSR and having resided in the USA, he's called New Zealand home since 2009. Volykhine's art, spanning paintings and works on paper, delves into the underlying forces shaping the human psyche. Rejecting conventional narrative logic, Volykhine's works amalgamate various themes, sources, and references, mirroring the diversity of his life experiences. His manipulation of space, surface, and technique yields paintings that are both humorously perverse and contemplatively poetic. Recent recognition includes being a finalist in the 2023 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award and in multiple editions of the Walker & Hall Art Awards, where he secured a win for his figurative art. Additionally, he was a finalist in the 2016 Adam Portraiture Award. Internationally, his works have been featured in esteemed exhibitions such as the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Blake Prize for Religious Art, and the Jacaranda Drawing Prize in Australia. He also contributed to the Benneton family's Imago Mundi New Zealand Kiwi Consciousness Collection in Italy. Born in the USSR, Volykhine and his family have traversed the globe, exhibiting and residing in various countries, from New York to Estonia. Since settling in New Zealand in 2009, he has showcased his art in solo and group exhibitions across the country. His works grace numerous private, public, and corporate collections worldwide. Volykhine's paintings offer a darkly comic yet poetic portrayal of characters navigating the complexities of life. His narratives are characterized by a loose, playful, and chaotic quality. At the core of his art lies an intuitive process, where he allows stories to unfold organically as he paints. His expressive brushwork creates a space for his characters to breathe and evolve, embodying lives yet unexplored.