Brutality, 2013.

Evgeniya Maltseva's series of canvases "Brutality" is a statement about the impossibility of being a person without suffering. It is the eternal split and fracture of person, which arise when confronted with the cruel reality of existence, that generates humanity in us. Maltseva's worldview is close to the ancient tragedy, praising the hero who accepts the challenge of ruthless fate and confronts him, although he understands that it is pointless. Peering into the depths of the human, the artist is inspired by the dramaturgy of ancient sculptural plasticity, which she interprets as the embodiment of the conflict between the Dionysian and Apollonian principles.

Working on "Brutality", Evgeniya herself is likened to an ancient pythia, uttering incoherent prophecies in a state of creative trance. Following the divine gift of prediction, she allows herself the spontaneity of artistic speech. The artist completely surrenders herself to the power of the energies that have engulfed her, and they begin to control her hand with a brush. Impulsive movements of the brush gradually ignite a fire of lines and color spots, miraculously turning into living breathing forms. The paint spreading over the surface of the canvas transforms into shimmering images-prophecies that add up to the drama of human destiny. In these flashing visions, something is guessed, recognized, and something remains hidden.

Evgeniya Maltseva opens "Brutality" with her self-portrait. This is the only work of the cycle that exudes calm and relaxation. It is like a tuning fork that allows you to measure the strength of a person's despair in other canvases of the series. The gentle, languid intonation of the self-portrait is read as the personification of seduction or intoxicating female beauty, capable of dragging a man into the whirlpool of love passion and ruin.

In the cycle "Brutality", men's torsos are gripped by a state of disastrous delight, in which unbridled sensuality and a cry of despair are combined. Passion, imprisoned in the corporeal shell, rushes and makes a person suffer. At the same time, the characters of Maltseva's paintings, overcoming pain, heroically continue to resist the pressure of Dionysian energy, although they already understand that there is no escape from fate...

The shimmering, writhing shapes resemble antique statues with broken body parts – like the famous Belvedere Torso. They are both beautiful and disfigured. Their integrity is broken, which means there is no peace. Cutting off body parts is a favorite artistic technique of Evgeniya Maltseva. The body seems to be torn apart from the inability to express its emotions, feelings and pain. Breaks, chips and cuts are emotionally perceived as wounds inflicted not so much on the body as on the soul. In Brutality, a wounded body is a metaphor for a wounded soul. The crouching body seems to be trying to resist the blows and arrows of cruel fate. And tense muscles and tendons are tied into an insoluble Gordian knot of fate.