Vadim Rokhlin

Painter, graphic artist, architect, teacher. Born in the family of Moisei Rokhlin in Leningrad (1937). Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning of the Leningrad Institute of Engineering and Construction (1960). Worked as an architect at LenNIIproject, planning the north-west districts and suburbs of Leningrad (1963–80). Married Tamara Fyodorova (1966), who give birth to a daughter called Sofia (1970–1974). Taught drawing at the Vyborg District Palace of Pioneers in Leningrad (1980–85). Assimilating numerous artistic influences, created a gallery of mystical fantasies permeated with the sensation of the enigmatic and incognisable nature of existence. Explored the world of reality and the psychological depths of spiritual life in self-portraits and portraits of friends and relatives. Such fundamental works as Tearing Off the Clothes and Bearing the Cross address the tragic pathos of the dualism of life and the indissoluble link between suffering and beauty. Died in Leningrad and buried at Komarovo Cemetery (1985). Contributed to exhibitions, including the nonconformist exhibitions at the Ivan Gaza Palace of Culture (1974) and the Nevsky Palace of Culture (1975), Portraiture in Russia: XX Century at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2001–02), Times of Change: Art in the Soviet Union (1960–85) at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2006), one-man shows in Moscow/Leningrad/Grodno (1989) and The Fantastic Vision of Vadim Rokhlin at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey (1987).