Two of Us is an exhibition by Ukrainian artists Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House in Pasadena. The show highlights their intertwined yet independent painting practices, developed over three years of living and working side by side in France. Their work engages in a subtle, ongoing dialogue shaped by shared space and proximity, without merging into a formal collaboration. The exhibition makes this quiet conversation visible, presenting two distinct voices that remain attentive to each other.
Samarin begins with the body—gesture, color, and physical process guide his paintings. His recent figurative works extend his earlier abstractions, treating both as currents in one continuous practice. Influences include American outsider artists (Eddie Arning, Bill Traylor), German Expressionists (Kirchner, Munch), Fauvist color (Derain), and medieval art from the Cluny Museum.
Derkach starts from narrative, memory, and transformation, evolving from instinctive gestures into layered, dreamlike stories. Figures recur and metamorphose across canvases, blending influences from George Condo, Philip Guston, Neo-Expressionism, and childhood fairy tales.
Rather than fusion, the show celebrates proximity—difference sharpening intimacy through mutual observation and respect. It invites viewers into a dynamic space between gesture and story, body and myth, structure and change. The exhibition at Simchowitz Hill House runs until April 11, 2026.
Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach: Two of Us / Simchowitz Hill House. Pasadena (USA), February 19, 2026.
