In 1973 Vasily Shulzhenko graduated from the Moscow University of Printing Arts. From 1978 he has been working in figure painting. Now he is working in grotesque realism. In 2012 he won the golden medal of Russian Academy of Art and the diploma of the 1st degree for «relevance in academic painting».
Creativity of Vasily Shulzhenko is an encyclopedia of thoughts about Russia and humanity with its ancient memories about instincts that do not want to become modern. Shulzhenko give us to know that we are at the beginning of the real civilization. He is epic and calm, he do not intervene in current politics, do not write a satire on the topic of the day.
That understanding of human’s nature which goes out of his works is based on his own life experience. Shulzhenko’s appeal «Look inside yourself» is totally universal. But how seldom it’s been heard…
Technically, works of Shulzhenko can be divided on two types: «smooth painting» in classic style and «pasty painting» in realistic style. He demonstrates high level skills in both. In some works the styles are mixed together that gives the most wonderful effect. His manner of painting that looks like very traditional in each fragment looks very original in its entirety. In this occasion he has a strongly marked personal style and his works are immediately recognizable.
Solo exhibitions
1993 Karass Gallery, Nitherlands
1995 Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, USA
1997 Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, USA
1999 Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, USA
2000 Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, USA
2003 Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, USA
2005 Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, USA
Public collections
Contemporary Art Gallery ARTSTORY, Moscow
KISSI Museum, USA
M’ARS Museum, Moscow
The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Private collections of Italy, Finland, France, Russia, the Netherlands and the USA