LEONID SOKOV | Portrait of Viacheslav Sokhransky and Teaser

Estimate

5,000 - 7,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

Leonid Sokov
Portrait of Viacheslav Sokhransky and Teaser
one signed in Cyrillic, indistinctly numbered and dated 77-78 l.r.; the other signed in Cyrillic, numbered 4/11 and dated 77-78 l.r.
oil on cardboard
22 by 30cm, 7 3/4 by 11 3/4 in.; 35 by 30cm, 13 3/4 by 11 3/4 in.

Catalogue Note

The present works come from a series of cut-outs based on larger wooden sculptures dating back to 1974. Several of the original sculptures were mechanized, for example allowing the eyes and tongue of Teaser to move around. The works functioned as a great leveler, stripping Soviet propaganda of its protective mantle of etiquette and respect. The production of small editions of two-dimensional works facilitated their smuggling out of the Soviet Union to the West in order to raise funds for the non-conformist magazine A-Ya.