"The Wheel," Frank Williams' overhelming tribute to the scope of mankind's struggle, confronts visitors at the Russian Museum's Marble Hall.
St Petersburg's Russian Museum is hosting an exhibition that is as big and bold as Texas.
But then sculptor and painter Frank Williams moved to Russia from Texas with his wife in 1992 and has made his home here.
This American artist has just opened his impressive new exhibition in the Russian Museum's Marble Palace.
The exhibitions' 48 pieces include works from the early 1980s to the present day.
There is a clear evolutionary line that runs through the display, with the various recurring themes doubling back on themselves.
"The Wheel" -- a huge creation of wood, copper, steel and stones dominates the first room, immediately throwing the focus of Williams' work at your face.
"The themes are both personal and universal.
"They tend to deal with the subjects of weight and burden: the burden of the responsibility that we have for ourselves, the burden of finding a foundation for our lives -- finding a truth that you can grab on to."
The enormity of "The Wheel" symbolizes the sheer magnitude of this task, its apparent impossibility.
Nevertheless, it is there to be pulled and its presence at the entrance is more than just an invitation to come in, it is a challenge.
An open man whose art is powerful and easily accessible, Williams says he prefers talking to the uninitiated rather than critics with their own agenda to pursue.
Williams, 48, feels settled in Russia and has no desire to leave. "I get a big charge out of showing my work and getting such a positive response here," he said.
"People in Russia seem to respond to the work much better. They seem to be open to it from the start -- one of the cleaners here just came up to me and asked questions about practically every exhibit."
While "The Wheel" is one of Williams' most recent works, the end of the exhibition houses two of his earliest, originally put together in 1980.
These two largely fiberglass sculptures -- "The Weight" and "Against the Wall" -- also deal with humanity's self inflicted burden.
"The Weight" - Frank Williams looking at self-inflicted burdens.
"The Weight" shows a man, complete with fur hat and thick plastic glasses, straining to pull up the very ground he stands on.
"Against the Wall" has a blindfolded figure desperately trying to pull a twisted and barbed metallic mess from the floor.
There are lighter moments in the display and a generous helping of black humor in some of the pieces.
As Williams himself admits, "I have always been drawn to the dark side -- it serves as a release for me, I suppose it does for a lot of people."
Another particularly striking piece was "Fear in Flight." This has a skeletal figure leaping away from the wall, arms spread, with a desperate look on its face.
The leap into the unknown and the risk of failure both leap out of the work with the skeleton and challenge us to also overcome our fears.
He paid particular attention to one of his paintings, a very personal work called "Pillars of My Mortality."
It features a picture of himself as a baby, surrounded by his family, to the backdrop of a line of mummified figures, perched awkwardly on some poles.
Williams painted this piece after hearing about people in Papua New Guinea who mummify their dead family members so that they can be closer to them.
"Only three of us in the photo are still alive now," he said.
Another of his paintings, "Where Rats have Wings," explores the vulnerability of the Russian family unit.
Huddled against the cold, a naked couple try to protect each other from sinister black shapes flying in the background. The risk of falling prey to forces beyond their control is ever present.
Williams personal exhibition at the Marble Palace contrasts sharply with some of his earlier experiences.
One studio he approached told him they would be glad to exhibit some of his work -- for $30,000. "I just laughed," he said.
Although his home is in Moscow, he enjoys his visits to St Petersburg. "I like it here -- especially when the sun shines. St Petersburg is probably the most exciting city in Russia."