Victoria Lomasko

Edel Assanti is pleased to present Cocoon, Victoria Lomasko’s second solo exhibition at the gallery, coinciding with her solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Göttingen in Germany.

Since the success of her acclaimed graphic novel Other Russias (2017), Lomasko's practice has shifted from documentary, reportage-style drawing to a narrative realist approach, applying a dream-logic to confront personal experiences in the face of a turbulent sociopolitical landscape. Cocoon comprises a new group of paintings produced since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a period in which Lomasko has worked in Europe whilst becoming an increasingly prominent dissident voice. The paintings combine charged symbolism with autobiographical references to reflect on the imperatives of the artist's role in her situation – in Lomasko's words: "My aim is to see the transformation beyond the catastrophe. Something new is emerging from this horrific chrysalis. It is a new reality.”

Victoria Lomasko’s (b. 1978) practice of graphic illustration takes the form of novels, journalism, comics, paintings and monumental murals. Whilst Lomasko became one of the most renowned dissident voices in the highly censored environment of contemporary Russia through works such as her seminal graphic novel Other Russias, her practice equally meditates on her own lived experience as an artist navigating precarious territories and recording unstable histories. Her work oscillates between two voices: a direct and honest “reportage” style, preserving the spirit of her subjects, be they sex workers, farmers, protesters, refugees or other marginalised communities; and a magical realist sensibility used in her murals and paintings as a method of processing subjective and visceral experiences.

Victoria Lomasko graduated from Moscow State University of Printing Arts in 2003, with a degree in graphic art and book design. Victoria Lomasko’s solo exhibitions include Impossible Return: A Chronicle of Thirteen Years, Kunsthaus Göttingen, Germany (2023); The Last Soviet Artist, Santa Giulia Museum, Brescia, Italy (2022); Act 1, Hellerau, European Center for the Arts, Dresden, Germany (2020); Other Russias, Cartoonmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2019); Truth, Power, and the Art of Resistance, Miami University Humanities Center, Ohio, USA (2019); On the Eve, Pushkin House, London, UK (2018). Recent group exhibitions include Draw for Change!, Comic Strip Museum, Brussels, Belgium (2023); Documenta 15, Kassel, Germany (2022); The Art of the News: Comics Journalism, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, USA (2021); Only Drawing Can Do This!, Horst-Janssen-Museum, Oldenburg, Germany (2020); ...of bread, wine, cars, security and peace, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria (2020); Die Neunte Kunst: Unwanted Stories, Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art, Oldenburg, Germany (2018); Volksfronten, steirischer herbst’18, Graz, Austria (2018); Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art, Garage Museum, Moscow, Russia, (2017). Her work has appeared in Art in America, The Guardian, GQ and The New Yorker. Lomasko’s graphic novel Other Russias (Penguin, 2017) was awarded the Pushkin House Best Book in Translation award. Lomasko’s work features in public collections including Arsenal Gallery, Bialystok, Poland; Cartoonmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia. Victoria Lomasko is currently in exile.