St Petersburg as seen by V. Nabokov

The works of Ivan Chemakin can be described as Arte Povera of the Russian countryside. He creates his paintings from "poor" materials—things that can be found in a lonesome village. This Russian essence lends a special warmth to his pictures.

Yulia Kartoshkina is a representative of a new Naïve Art style. Her paintings have conquered the gallery podiums of Moscow and major regional centres of contemporary art in Russia. Bright, deeply picturesque, naïve, yet sensitive and touching works of Y. Kartoshkina continue the tradition of folk artists of Ancient Rus’, translating their Old Slavonic language into our modern one, making the art more understandable to the viewers of the 21st-century.

These two distinct artists have agreed to participate in an experiment and combine their reflections on the theme "Vladimir Nabokov’s childhood hometown and the house where he was born and raised" in one project.