Zoo

This painting places the viewer in the role of an animal in the zoo, who is being watched by an adult and a child in an unsettling face-to-face. The painting seems to return our gaze, encouraging us to examine these two figures with contrasting expressions close-up. The child, with eyes wide-open and a radiant face, is the embodiment of innocence, whereas the adult wears a dark, closed, almost monstrous expression, devoid of any receptivity. Sanya Kantarovsky is adept at imbuing his work with a heavy atmosphere while injecting humour and an unconventional wit that add balance to the whole.