Like many non-conformist artists of his time, Vladimir Yakovlev was destined to exist outside the Soviet official ideological system. In the 1970s, his work gained recognition abroad, featuring in important exhibitions in Switzerland, Germany and the US. Yet in his native country, his expressionist paintings remained confined to the private realm of ‘apartment exhibitions’ and the collections of only the most courageous connoisseurs. This stark contrast between artistic recognition and personal adversity lies at the heart of Yakovlev’s life and work, for which the image of a lonesome flower serves as a strikingly resonant metaphor.

Partially blind and lacking formal artistic education, Yakovlev nevertheless displayed exceptional artistic talent. From 1984 onwards, he was confined to Soviet psychiatric hospitals, where he endured the harshest conditions. Paradoxically, it was the loss of his sight and the prolonged isolation of institutional life that enabled him to develop a profound understanding of the intangible and a clear vision of life’s harmony, untrammelled by the cruel reality of his own existence.