Vania Zouravliov grew up in an artistic family. His mother was an art teacher and so he picked up painting from a very young age. His adolescent influences were both typical and unusual. The Bible, Dante’s Divine Comedy, early Disney animation, and North American Indians, included among them.
Vania was soon labeled a prodigy. He appeared on several Russian television shows. By age 13, Zouravliov was exhibiting internationally. He departed from Russia and headed to Scotland to study at the Edinburgh College of Art.
Zouravliov’s richly detailed illustrations play with innocence, eroticism, brutality, and ethereality. He has cited Paolo Roversi as one of his influences and you can definitely see similarities in their work.
Striking portraiture of beautiful yet bewildering women. Mesmerizing you with their gaunt gaze. Furthermore, Zouravliov’s illustrations also share the look of daguerreotype photography.
This balance of classic and modern, as well as elements from both East and West cultures, create scenes that feel otherworldly. A style that is congruous to the portrayal of fantasies and myths, simultaneously, fears and the macabre.