Description:

MAXIM KANTOR (RUSSIAN B. 1957)
Blind Man
oil on canvas
171 x 110 cm (67 3/8 x 43 1/4 in.)
unframed
signed, titled and dated on verso and on stretcher

CONDITION
The painting is in good condition, some areas of paint loss and rubbing, mostly to the lower, left and right edges, one small paint loss spot to the lower center. No other visible issues to report. Not inspected under UV light, to request inspection, please, email to [email protected]

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist by a private collector
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above) LITERATURE
Maxim Kantor: New Empire, (Rasch: 2004), p. 63, no. 20 (illustrated)

LOT NOTES
Born in 1957 in Moscow, Maxim Kantor matured artistically during the final decades of the Soviet Union and came to prominence in the post-Soviet era. A painter, writer, and public intellectual, Kantor is widely recognized not only for his large-scale narrative paintings and prints but also for his incisive engagement with politics, history, and philosophy. His work straddles the line between painterly expression and ideological commentary, forging a unique synthesis of image and intellect in the wake of the USSR’s collapse. Deeply influenced by German Expressionism and Soviet realist traditions, Kantor blends the historical with the contemporary, creating visual narratives that deal with the themes of alienation, ideology, and ethical crisis.
In  Blind Man, Maxim Kantor delivers a poignant meditation on urban alienation and spiritual blindness in the post-Soviet landscape. The large-scale composition features a towering, angular apartment block tilting dramatically across the canvas, dwarfing the solitary, blindfolded figure in the foreground. This man-visibly frail and uncertain—moves among a pack of stray dogs, their silhouettes echoing both menace and abandonment.
Rendered in Kantor’s signature expressive style, the painting uses rough, tactile brushwork and a palette of murky blues and acidic reds to evoke both psychological unrest and social disintegration. As in much of Kantor’s work, Blind Man is not merely figurative but allegorical.
Kantor has represented Russia at the Venice Biennale and exhibited widely across Europe. With his rare blend of artistic intensity and ethical engagement, Kantor remains one of the most important voices in contemporary Russian art.

Keywords: Russian Art, Maxim Kantor, Contemporary Oil Painting, Figurative Art, Modern Russian Art, Post-Soviet Art, Russian Painting

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June 28, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
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