COVER | Ilya Zomb

Warming Up Before the Butterfly Stretch (oil on canvas). The bewitching paintings of Ilya Zomb seem to depict a parallel universe, a place of strange, graceful beauty populated by a delicate cast of women and birds, attentive animals, and lavish fruits and flowers. Over the decades of his practice, first in his native Russia, then in New York, Zomb has cultivated and honed his singular vision, fleshing out his fictional realm with unrelenting passion. His work seems to function according to a complex logic known in its fullness only to the artist: an intricate, fanciful society in which men are largely absent or are associated with animals, while women dressed as dancers engage every element of their surroundings in a highly choreographed ballet, ushering everything toward a harmonious state of ultimate beauty and balance. His work can be seen at Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Union Square, San Francisco, 415-392-2299, www.CaldwellSnyder.com.