The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural."

The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural."

      An exhibition by an artist who loved to paint calabash pumpkins opens at "Hermitage-Ural" today at 11:00 a.m. The personal retrospectives (focused on the past—for Uralweb) exhibition "Leaving the Cocoon: The Paintings of Nikolai Sajin" by one of the most prominent figures of contemporary Saint Petersburg art opens on Tuesday, August 12, at the "Hermitage-Ural" Center, according to the press service of the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts.

      Nikolai Sajin (1948–2019) actively participated in the unofficial art life of Leningrad, exhibited at numerous "apartment exhibitions" starting in 1971, and was a resident of the famous squat (an unoccupied, abandoned building occupied without the owner’s permission—for Uralweb) at Pushkinskaya, 10. His rebellious artistic spirit was combined with education at academic institutions—the Tavrichesky Art School (1966–1972) and later the I.E. Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (1972–1978).

      Sajin's works are often described as fantastic realism. They are complex paintings where familiar pagan and folk motifs are reflected in a whimsical manner.

      The recurring heroes of Sajin’s paintings are the whimsical southern calabash gourds, also known as gourds. The stylized pumpkins on his canvases lead an active biological life, imbued with a unique sense of drama: they participate in courtly scenes, integrate into well-known cultural narratives, fall ill, and decay ("Dresser", 1996; "Seriously Ill, Virtually Irreversible", 1990).

      The exhibition project "Leaving the Cocoon: The Paintings of Nikolai Sajin" is based on the contrast of two key themes for the artist: Eros and Thanatos. These concepts, introduced into scientific discourse by Sigmund Freud, denote innate opposing drives of the psyche: the urge to reproduce and self-preservation, and the desire to return to a primordial inanimate state.

      The exhibition "Leaving the Cocoon. The Paintings of Nikolai Sajin" (age 16+) will be presented in the Main Exhibition Hall of the "Hermitage-Ural" Center from August 12 to October 26, 2025.

      Hours: Tuesday–Sunday — 11:00 to 20:00; Monday — closed. Ticket prices: 400 rubles — regular, 200 rubles — reduced (pensioners, students).

The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural." The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural."

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The artist's exhibition, who loved painting calabash pumpkins, opens at "Hermitage-Ural."

The personal retrospective exhibition "Leaving the Cocoon: Paintings by Nikolai Sajin," one of the brightest representatives of contemporary Saint Petersburg art, opens on Tuesday, August 12, at the Hermitage-Ural Center, announced the press service of the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts.