Konstantin Bessmertny is distracted as he sits down for an interview. The Macau-based Russian artist keeps looking at his painting, Seven Stud Poker, as if he has just encountered a long-lost lover. 'I'm sorry,' he says. 'The painting was exhibited in New York and I haven't seen it for a while. I really love this painting.'
Seven Stud Poker depicts a group of men in suits playing poker, accompanied by naked women sculpted like Roman marble statues. Thought bubbles saying: 'Choose baccarat' and 'Venetian is the best', as well as the name of 'Wynn' casino are scribbled on the canvas.
The painting is part of Bessmertny's Casino Republic series. It is among 16 artworks being shown in a solo exhibition, titled Showdown, at Amelia Johnson Contemporary gallery.
From Pushkin to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - all of whom were addicted to gambling - Russia's fascination with betting has inspired the country's great works of literature. And it takes the creative mind of a Russian artist to grasp and reflect on a gambling-obsessed city such as Macau, which has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's top gambling destination.
'Macau and its surroundings definitely influence me,' says Bessmertny, who doesn't like gambling but is fascinated with what he sees around him. 'I love the display of structures, characters, vices and sins in Macau, and I use it as the material for my work.'
He has created a fantasyland called Casino Republic, painting the state's luminaries and official seal, which features an erupting volcano, inspired by the fake volcano at Macau Fisherman's Wharf. 'Casino Republic is a parody of Macau,' he says. 'It is an unreal state inspired by Macau, Monaco and Las Vegas.'
