"Morning" by Gennady Karabinsky, who aims to depict
Jews as human beings like any others, who live, work, create, give birth and
die, instead of them being seen merely as a people who suffer humiliations, gas
chambers and pogroms.
"My parents were afraid to speak the Jewish language, but what I'm presently working on has a Jewish theme," said artist Gennady Karabinsky at the opening of his exhibition in the Staraya Derevnya restaurant.
This is his second exhibition following a successful one last year at the restaurant which delights in combining culinary art with other art forms such as painting and music which the owners and public alike both agree compliment each other admirably.
Twenty three of Karabinsky's latest pictures, painted over the past year, hang in the restaurant's two rooms giving food for imagination and thought.
A mixture of drawbridges torn apart -- not simply lifted, but snapped like wooden planks -- with sharp splintered ends sticking painfully outwards are striking in his "Dream" picture.
Ropes dangle from gigantic, shabby curtains while tiny trams and silhouettes of St Petersburg's buildings create a backdrop for an elderly Jew with an old walking stick blossoming with flowers and rich with grapes.
"And in the morning, only Moses' staff started to blossom," said the artist quoting the Bible.
"You see, now that I have finally found myself caught up with this Jewish theme to my work I have had to read lots of literature around the subject -- about Jewish culture and traditions in translation," he said.
The painting "Travel" features another elderly Jew against a St Petersburg backdrop, manoeuvring along a channel, his tiny gondola decorated with fanciful curved lines and the head of a creature reminiscent of a camel.
The old man tries to make his way with a bright-orange oar, but another Jew with an enormous head constrains him. "We're all being restrained and restricted and it's not just happening to the Jews," says Karabitsky.
There are lots of Jewish faces in his paintings, but Karabitsky said, "they're not really just faces -- it's reflecting the Jewish spirit, mentality and philosophy, which, to put it mildly, so many have disliked."
And these "spirits" have the most penetrating eyes -- some sad, some suffering, some sparkling with life and joy. "Jews like to joke, especially about themselves, that's what rescues them," said Karabinsky.
Almost every picture is decorated with flowers. They protrude from walking-sticks, or protrude strangely from bottles or can be seen freely draped around his pictures. They have became a symbol for the artist -- a symbol of life and beauty, despite all life's hardships.
Karabinsky said, "I wanted to show the artistic talents, wisdom and lyrics of the Jewish people, to show that Jews ARE people, equal among equals.
"Yes, they have suffered humiliations, evictions, the gas chambers, pogroms and libel, but like any other human beings they live, work, create, give birth and die," said the artist.
"Cocktail with St Petersburg", is the painting which lent the exhibition its name. In the painting's background there are silhouettes of buildings -- they could equally be from St Petersburg or from the Belarussian town Baranovichi, where the artist was born.
A huge wine-glass with pipes stands before two tall, tower-shaped buildings, amicably and trustfully their cupola-shaped heads touch. "Let's sit down, have a drink and talk about life," invites the artist in this painting.
And Staraya Derevnya is the perfect place for that with its glorious food, homely atmosphere and the friendly owners who appreciate art and music.
Karabinsky's "Red St Petersburg"