Modern abstract interpretation of a traditional European aristocratic portrait complete with crown, elongated neck, bustier neckline and a hint of a cinched waist titled "Card Illusion" "Иллюзия карты" by Vadim Kurov (Russian Federation, b-1947). Signed by the artist lower right corner Вадим Куров (Bagum Kypot) (Vadim Kurov); signed and dated "99" on verso. Presented in a rustic giltwood frame. Image, 37.13"H x 26.13"W. Vadim Kurov graduated Art Industrial School. VM Mukhina. Member of the Russian Union of Artists and the International Association of Artists. Lives and works in St. Petersburg. Born in the city of Kazan, USSR, in 1947, graduate of the Kazan School of Art, graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and Design. The main topics of work: theatrical compositions, ballet world, a fantastic portrait, literary - philosophical still-life and landscape. His paintings are in the collections of European countries, as well as in the collections of the Museum of Theatre Arts of St. Petersburg, the Ministry of Culture, the State Museum of Fine Arts in Kazan, the Georges Pompidou Museum, the Cultural Center of Los Angeles, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami Museum, Prague Modern Art, the Museum of the Soviet and Russian Art Shanghai. EXHIBITIONS (partial list): 1989/90 – participation in the exhibitions/auctions of Drouot-Richelieu, Paris 1991 – 10-10 Gallery, St. Petersburg1991 – Nurland, Norway 1991 – Hamilton, Canada 1992/1993/1994/1995 – “New Romantics of St. Petersburg” (Zerkalo/ATUS Galleries) 1994 – MALAUKSIA Gallery, Helsinki, Finland1996 – Bremen, Germany 1997 – personal exhibition at the Zerkalo Gallery, St. Petersburg 1998 – Vincent Louis Gallery, New York, USA 1999 – “Russian Resplendence Exhibition,” Fred Kavil Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, USA 2000 – LaPalette Gallery, Miami, FL, USA 2001 – “Russian Resplendence II Exhibition,” Los Angeles, CA, USA 2003 – “Eclectic Russian Contemporary Art,” Barette Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA 2004 – Helsinki, Finland