Hendrik Beikirch is known for his portraits. The intensity of these powerful faces of ordinary men and women summons the intimate on canvas and walls around the world.

In 2016, the artist travelled to Olchon, the largest island in Lake Baikal. The ice was still there, days of travel by bus, train, afternoons of walking punctuated his encounters with nature, history, and people. He observes, is inspired, is impregnated by these landscapes which are for him deeply linked to the souls of the inhabitants.

The project SIBERIA is the result of Hendrik Beikirch’s encounter with the inhabitants of this distant immensity. The paintings go beyond the simple portrait, they involve scenes that accentuate the narrative element, and bring back the historical paradigms of Soviet realism.

Aware that a country is characterised less by tourist attractions than by its people, Hendrik Beikirch tells unique stories as a narrator, embodied by individuals whose essence of experience is, more than anything else, the great Siberia.

Exhibition presented from 05 november to 31 december 2018 at Montresso* art space