Valery Barykin

Known for his unique style, Valery Barykin’s prints contrast the aesthetic of the beloved American Pin-Up culture and its heightened sexuality with the sharp-edged and saturated colours of Soviet Russia’s propaganda posters. His upbringing was surrounded by socialist advertisements and mass-produced American pin-up photographs that slowly made their way into Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The women in his works often resemble Soviet Russian film stars such as Lyudmila Gurcgenko and Natalya Fateeva who are sometimes scantily clad and the object of attention. Barykin displays his outrageously gorgeous and provocative women in unexpected everyday familiar situations as they enthusiastically continue to perform their stereotyped roles and female duties.