Lenin 2009

Curator: Well, here’s a piece that definitely gets your attention. What do you think? Editor: My first impression? Unexpected, to say the least. It's confronting, yet almost…vulnerable? There is something jarring about that confident stare set against the disarming, almost tawdry presentation. What am I looking at? Curator: This is "Lenin" by Alexander Roitburd, created in 2009. It's an acrylic painting on canvas. The artist puts a provocative twist on a monumental figure by portraying him in a very different light, no pun intended. Editor: Indeed. Stripping away the layers of propaganda and portraying Lenin like…this. I’m struck by the blatant iconoclasm, it almost feels punk, yet it’s clearly painted with a deep understanding of classic portraiture. It challenges the way we see symbols, particularly political ones. Does it provoke thought, or just…reaction? Curator: Maybe a little of both? Roitburd often played with challenging societal norms and perceptions, injecting a kind of sardonic humor into his works. Here he subverts this hyper-masculine and revered persona by highlighting vulnerability and even the eroticism inherent in idealized forms, while simultaneously referencing canonical tropes from art history. Editor: The golden light that illuminates the figure feels deliberate too. Like an ancient icon or a classical sculpture, drawing a comparison with those long-standing images. I imagine some viewers will feel challenged by such an image that questions familiar historical depictions. The mind does jump to thinking of the artist and his thought process... Was it just intended as shocking or to prompt further investigation and reflection of values? Curator: He's nudging at our assumptions, making us confront the difference between the icon and the individual, and, honestly, isn't that what good art is all about? He seemed to see something fundamentally ridiculous and profound at the same time. Roitburd asks how we choose to view power… Editor: Exactly. Power, image, vulnerability—it's all entangled here in this painting. It sticks with you long after you've moved on. Curator: Couldn't agree more.