Daria Khristova nee Chernenko
Department Director
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Lot 2*
Pyotr Belenok(Russian, 1938-1991)Sans titre/ Untitled
3 – 24 October 2025, 12:00 CEST
Online, Paris, avenue Hoche€2,000 - €4,000
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Anna Tchoudnowsky
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Pyotr Belenok (Russian, 1938-1991)
Sans titre/ Untitled
signé en cyrillique et daté « 74 » (en bas à droite)
collage et encre sur papier
64 x 50cm (25 3/16 x 19 11/16in).
signed in Cyrillic and dated '74' (lower right)
collage and ink on paper
signé en cyrillique et daté « 74 » (en bas à droite)
collage et encre sur papier
64 x 50cm (25 3/16 x 19 11/16in).
signed in Cyrillic and dated '74' (lower right)
collage and ink on paper
Footnotes
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
'Panic Realism' by Pyotr Belenok was intended to reflect the panic-stricken mood prevalent among dissident circles of his time. By depicting man as small, isolated, and powerless in the face of natural forces and abstract catastrophes, the artist conveys a profound sense of despair and helplessness. According to his contemporaries, Belenok's works served as eerie premonitions of impending disaster.
Belenok's protagonist, his little man, is depersonalised. As a one-dimensional figure, he often lacks the emotions one might expect in the face of catastrophe. The use of collage, with figures lifted from various magazines, further emphasised their faceless, anonymous nature. Belenok's eschatological works illustrated a central idea: the environment has a dominant influence over the individual. When catastrophe becomes the primary context, even a smiling man advertising holiday vouchers appears unsettling.
In the presented piece, using collage technique, Belenok places a male figure within a vast, boundless space. The figure appears diminutive when compared to the large, sweeping brushstrokes that surround him, which seem almost poised to crush him. The composition is dynamic due to these bold strokes, yet the space itself rings with emptiness and a sense of timelessness. It is a painterly confrontation between man and chaos - one in which man inevitably loses.
The restrained use of colour, where only the cut-out figure from the magazine appears vibrant, serves to heighten the surreal nature of the scene.