Vladimir Shinkarev was born in Leningrad in 1954. He has graduated from the Zhdanov Leningrad State University, from courses in Mukhina Art Institute and Repin Painting, Sculpture and Architecture Institute. He is a cofounder of Mit'ki group and Mit'kilibris publishing house. In 1970 - 1990s Shinkarev's works were exhibited on numerous personal and group exhibitions that took place in Petersburg, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Vienna, Paris, Antwerp, Cologne, Los Angeles, New York, Berlin and in other cities.
In 1997-99 Vladimir Shinkarev was working on 16 paintings about famous and little known books. He gave a project the name "World Literature". Among selected books are "Iliad" by Homer, "Divine Comedy" by Dante, "Suffering of young Verter" by Goethe, "Eugene Onegin" by Pushkin, "Transformation" by Kafka, "Cavalry" by Babel' and the song "Little Fir Tree".
Shinkarev's World Literature on the first glance applies to Pop Art or Post-Modern object paintings, collages from all kinds of quotes. Especially as all the quotes in "World Literature" are symbolical. "Red Cavalry is Galloping" by Malevich as an illustration to Babel's "Cavalry" could be seen as Socialist Art critics and Shnkarev's composition "Dancing Alone" could be perceived as Gregor Zamza's history episode that was told by Kafka. All these allows to begin psychoanalytical speculations, repeating of the room from "Dancing alone" in the "Parsifal" painting also leads to them: there is the Holy Graal all alone in this room. But this train of thought turns to be false if you will take seriously the author's forewarning concerning the aim of this paintings' series. This aim is to "introduce to people the plastic way of thinking " but not to remind them of handbooks' summary because nowadays all of us don't read anything. Great impact of these paintings is connected with their composition construction that is absolutely neutral in comic books and resembles a row of shots. On the contrary in every composition there could be felt poignant efforts of subject's moving and episodes' coupling that are included in unequal and colliding right-angled blocks. Here we can see not tales depicted in paintings but muteness areas, pauses in literary narration that we fill in with our senses and afterwards we recreate from these pauses emotional atmosphere of work. All these paintings are intentionally mute, as they are full of painting form density. The exhibition was organized with the Ludwig Museum cooperation.
