Alik from Derbent

A man with short dark hair and a direct gaze sits on the edge of a work table, wearing a grey-and-brown striped sweater over a blue undershirt and jeans, with white protective gloves on both hands; a blue plastic bucket and a larger paint container stand beside him on a table strewn with rags, in front of a tall window with a dark, reflective pane.

Rendered in a cool, restrained palette of blue-grays, white and ochre, the paint is built up thickly with visible knife and brush marks, splattered white drips running down the surface echoing the working environment; flat, even light gives the sitter a matter-of-fact, unguarded presence.