Concrete Playground

One of the artist statements for Global Gallery's current Russian Artists show proudly proclaims painter, Leeka Gruzdeff, as the "winner of over 100 first prizes in local and country exhibitions." That's a pretty good summation of this show, with most of the five artists' work displaying the sort of technical competence that would fare well at a smaller exhibition, but not necessarily producing much in the way of emotional impact. There's a good deal of fine draftsmanship on show at this small Paddington gallery, with Gruzdeff's musical scenes being one example. A more striking one being Helen Kosenko's finely detailed, vaguely pop-art pieces, which make excellent use of limited palettes and fine detail. But few of the artists have applied their skills in a particularly moving way, with beach scenes, fairly unimaginative collage and some decent but unamazing abstract art making up the rest of the show.

Arguably one exception is Edward Galkin. The most stereotypically "Russian" of the artists being exhibited, his series of ostensibly crude paintings of the uniquely snide (or perhaps retarded) East European interpretation of court jestery easily stand out in their concern with more difficult experiences. The stupid, lustful, or (maybe?) cunning wide-eyed grin of Petrushka, the paintings' protagonist, accompanies him on a series of escapes alongside such dour and absurd captions as "I have no mummy," "Death takes Petrushka" and "Petrushka is mocking Malevich." It's vaguely unsettling stuff, which is definitely a plus, but without much in the way of context these mildly sinister scenes lose some of their power, coming across a bit like Itchy and Scratchy's iron curtain counterparts Worker and Parasite. I'd be letting my own East European heritage down if I didn't suggest that this show is still worth seeing &#151 Petrushka's good company, no doubt &#151 but maybe not at the top of your list.