Triumph Gallery presents You and Me, a solo exhibition by Misha Nikatin. The artist’s new series of works is grounded in collective experience while also drawing from a personal, "sensory" source. In each piece, Nikatin constructs a narrative that refers to different spheres of interaction, often adding ironic accents through text—"you and me," reminiscent of captions to memes or images on social media.

"In this series, I chose subjects of different levels of perception. They can условно be divided into three types. The first consists of everyday scenes from daily life that are familiar to everyone. The second focuses on the animal world and flora—these works are conceptually similar to fables by Russian writers, but interpreted in a contemporary way. The third type includes personal notes and reflections—an attempt to understand and process feelings from past relationships. These works are a form of self-therapy and a path toward liberation through art; they immerse the viewer in my private world."
— Misha Nikatin

While in his previous projects the depicted objects themselves served as the subject of the works, in this new series they are not only endowed with aesthetic qualities but also interact with one another, becoming carriers of meaning. Nikatin expands the boundaries of the space available to the viewer, allowing them to perceive not only the "protagonist," but also the environment in which it exists.

The artist’s creative process resembles the construction of visual puzzles: various situations, experiences, and states are expressed through a wide range of objects, acquiring new visual forms. The viewer is invited not only to observe the "dialogue" between the depicted elements, but also to engage with them—drawing on personal experience and attempting to decipher the meanings embedded within the works. "I had been accumulating subjects I wanted to depict, but what matters more is that the viewer finds something of their own in them," explains Misha.

The project’s general partner is the food delivery service from chef-led restaurants, Ultima Yandex Eats. As part of the exhibition, works created through a collaboration between the artist and the brand will be presented, evoking Dutch still lifes. The exhibition space continues the central concept: "I" as the viewer interacting with food, and "you" as the dish or ingredient.

"I work with everyday reality, in which a person exists within the space of a large city, where food and gastronomic rituals are an integral part of life. Within the collaboration with Ultima Yandex Eats, we created narratives in which dialogue is built through the language of scale—between the large and the small. The theme of ‘you and me,' the theme of relationships, can function in entirely unexpected contexts while retaining its timeless quality," says Misha Nikatin.

Curator of the project: Polina Mogilina