Sanya Kantarovsky’s paintings are populated by sinewy, melancholic figures who appear either isolated or gathered in uneasy communion, set against abstract, dreamlike landscapes. His vividly colored compositions balance dry wit with existential unease, moving fluidly between scenes of lovers, mothers and children, and anonymous strangers suspended in moments of quiet tension. Drawing on the visual language of cartoons and folk tales, as well as Eastern European aesthetics, Kantarovsky also engages in dialogue with art historical predecessors such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and the Surrealists.Kantarovsky studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and worked in advertising before earning his MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has since exhibited internationally, with presentations in New York, Berlin, and London, among other cities. His work has achieved six-figure prices at auction and is held in the collections of major institutions, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Tate, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. In addition to painting, Kantarovsky works in sculpture and animation and has curated exhibitions of his own.