Vladimir Nemukhin (Russian, 1925–2016) “Joker” (“Джокер”), 1974

Oil and gouache on card

Size:

Image: 22 1/2" x 18 1/2"

(57.2 x 47 cm)

Frame: 26 1/2" x 22"

(67.3 x 55.9 cm)

Signed, dated 1974, and titled "Joker" lower right. 

A powerful and highly expressive mixed media composition by renowned Russian Nonconformist master Vladimir Nemukhin, titled “Джокер” (“Joker”), executed in 1974.

Rendered in oil and gouache on card, the work depicts one of Nemukhin’s iconic psychologically charged figures through vigorous brushwork, fluid gestural lines, and dramatic contrasts of black, gray, white, and deep crimson tones. The composition possesses the raw emotional intensity and philosophical ambiguity that define the artist’s most important works of the 1970s.

Nemukhin was a central figure of the Soviet “Second Avant-Garde” and a leading member of the legendary Lianozovo Group. Closely associated with the history of the Bulldozer Exhibition and the Moscow underground art movement, he remains one of the most important representatives of Russian Nonconformist art.

The present work is especially notable for its painterly freedom, strong visual presence, and museum-quality aesthetic. Signed and dated lower center/right and additionally titled “Джокер” (“Joker”) in Cyrillic.

An important original work from Nemukhin’s mature period, created during the height of the Soviet underground art movement.

Condition: Very good vintage condition.