Alexei Biryukoff

Born in Kyrgyzstan in 1976. Currently lives and works in East Vandergrift Pennsylvania.

My subject matter is mainly male portraits and nudes. Naked male flesh in general is often underrepresented in art and in our modern culture overall, where even old masterpieces with male nudity get censored. Somebody described my work as “non-glamorous”, meaning that my subjects are not “Greek gods” from a magazine cover. People are beautiful just the way they are, and all body types should be celebrated and not shamed for not meeting the unrealistic standards forced by corporate advertising.

I like the use of extreme perspectives, taking an average man next door and treating their body as a piece of architecture or a monument, towering above the viewer, telling their unique story with the marks, scars, wrinkles, and spare tire that are the land marks of their journey.