Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinogradov

Born a year apart in Moscow, Vladimir Dubossarsky (43) and Alexander Vinogradov (44) have been an artistic collaboration since 1994. The pair have known each other since they were teenagers and  both studied at the the Surikov Academy. Dubossarsky didn't graduate but after he left the institute and Vinogradov graduated, they decided to paint their first picture together.

Their style began as a parody of socialist realism with their first series informally called, "People Who Never Came to Moscow", which included paintings of Picasso, Andy Warhol and Jesus.

 

Picasso in Moscow, 1994

Dubossarsky commented on when they began painting in 1994,  “You have to understand, when we started working together, there was an opinion here that painting had died. In some way, our first project was alternative at that point in time. We didn’t understand what we were doing, but we understood it was against the trend. Aggressive performance art was very popular here. Art was either depressive or aggressive. We decided to create paradise.” 

Big Paradise, 1994

Their use of bright color, concept of artistic collaboration and their synthesis of nature and pop culture creates a unique style that caught my attention and many others, as shown by their recent successes. Their painting Night Fitness (2004) sold for $250,000 at an auction in London in 2008 and their painting Snow (2005) sold for $225,000 that same year.

Night Fitness, 2004

They were also successful in the Tretyakov Gallery for their picture installation the Four Seasons of Russian Painting which gained them further recognition in Russia. Ken Johnson , New York Times critic, described their style as "a goofy, distinctively Russian satire of consumerist euphoria". I couldn't have put it better myself but New York Times critic or someone who knows nothing about art, their paintings are just interesting to look at.

My Dad's Superman, 2012

Works Cited:
http://www.artnews.com/2008/01/01/sex-money-glamour-tractors/
http://www.dubossarskyvinogradov.ru/add/biography/