Two Russian artists at Agora Gallery NYC this June

About Anastasia Voltchok

Anastasia Voltchok was born into a world of music. Her maternal grandfather, Sergei Kozak, was a famous Ukrainian baritone as well as the director of the Kiev Philharmonic. It was natural, then, that Voltchok went on to study music, first at the Basel Music Academy in Switzerland, then at the University of Maryland where she became a Doctor of Musical Arts. Voltchok often paints while on tour, exhibiting work in galleries as she performs with famous orchestras around Europe and the wider world. For Voltchok, art is an essential means of expression, because it expands her sensorial connection with the audience. Unlike music, Voltchok notes that art can be “seen by the eye or touched.”

Voltchok paints with acrylics, oils, and pastels on canvas. She applies a wide variety of colors and prefers smooth textures. Her subjects are simple but expressive, drawn from her many travels and personal experiences. For Voltchok, it is essential to “express the energy and the emotion of the moment.” It is a goal both noble and consistently met.

About Irina L. Johnson

Irina L. Johnson paints with one eye toward the 19th-century landscape masters and another toward human whimsy. Johnson’s acrylic paintings are filled with majestic skies, fleeting clouds, and robust wildlife. The formal skill of Johnson’s brushstrokes manages to remain lighthearted in a hallowed art tradition. Her subjects include rich landscapes, dignified farm animals, and regal birds. Johnson's animal subjects are occasionally dressed in high fashion, such as in the pieces Helen in Escada and Boris in Gucci. Despite their exquisite garb, they are not posed with any awareness of the wealth on their backs.

Johnson’s fine renderings of the variations in color and texture of her subjects are paired with an elegant appreciation for natural landscapes. Viewers are inclined to fall in love with the animals, aptly given very human and personal names, as well as the exquisite textiles and serene views. Her unique works confront viewers with their preconceptions of fashion, luxury, and animal life.

Irina L. Johnson was born in Moscow and currently lives in Washington. She graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Environmental Design with a focus on Interior Design.

About the Exhibition

In Reverie of Form: Bodies of Art

The artists featured in the exhibition In Reverie of Form have embraced using their own unique styles a variety of subjects: from nature to wildlife to the human body. These artists create through painting, sketching, and sculpting extraordinary studies of their chosen themes. Cultural portraits, emotional human sculptures, fashionable farm animals, bright odes to flora, and even a touch of the abstract all come together in this comprehensive collection of contemporary fine art: an exhibition of wonder and re-examination.

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery located in the heart of Chelsea’s fine art district in New York. Established in 1984, Agora Gallery specializes in connecting art dealers and collectors with national and international artists. The art gallery’s expert consultants are available to assist corporate and private clients in procuring original artwork to meet their organization’s specific needs and budget requirements. With a strong online presence and popular online gallery, ARTmine, coupled with the spacious and elegant physical gallery space, the work of our talented artists, who work in diverse media and styles, can receive the attention it deserves. Over the years Agora Gallery has sponsored and catered to special events aimed at fostering social awareness and promoting the use of art to help those in need.