Right off the bat, Ilya Zomb wants to set the record straight. “Many mistakenly categorize my paintings as surrealism,” he says. “That is not the case. I invent situations that one does not usually encounter in everyday life, yet they remain entirely possible. There is nothing supernatural in them—everything is rendered with strict realism, and the interaction of all elements within the composition is natural and logical.”

Zomb is equally puzzled by those who label his work “fantasy art” because “any imagined composition is, by definition, a product of fantasy,” he explains. “Almost all of my paintings reflect a sense of balance—the fragile instant just before everything begins to change rapidly. I create situations in which anything might happen, and I call this approach pseudo-realism.”

Just Married: Spoonbills, 2025, oil on canvas, 26 x 38 in. 

Be that as it may, Zomb’s paintings are delightfully imaginative, as if they exist in a beautiful dream world where the incongruent makes sense and there is nothing to fear.

Certain subjects reappear in Zomb’s paintings, including ballerinas, elephants, flowers and fruit and, in recent years, an abundance of birds. “Certain species, such as ibises and storks, [move] from one canvas to another as if they refuse to leave,” he says. “What draws me to them is the unusual beauty of their color and form. The deeper I look into their details, the more I marvel at the imagination of the Creator.” 

Zomb’s interest in the animal world began with elephants, giraffes and rhinoceroses, which the artist perceives as symbolic of the masculine principle. By contrast, the feminine was embodied by ballerinas, though he didn’t see them as dancers, necessarily. “They may strike balletic poses, even while standing on the backs of elephants or rhinoceroses—situations entirely possible within the logic of my work,” he says. Pomegranates, lemons, grapes and artichokes are among the artist’s favorite fruits and vegetables to paint for their unusual colors, shapes and textures. 

Birds’ Hubbub: Black-necked Stork & Artichokes, 2025, oil on canvas, 26 x 36 in.

In his Just Married series, Zomb pairs the male and female of a single bird species in paintings that offer humorous commentary on relational demands. “The title…is both literal and symbolic: it celebrates partnership while inviting the viewer to notice the delicate equilibrium in their postures, colors, and the objects that surround them,” he explains. “In Just Married: Spoonbills, the vertical stack of pomegranates becomes a visual tightrope. The birds’ poised bodies, mirrored across the composition, hold that fragile column in place and hint at the balance required in any relationship.” 

Birds’ Hubbub: Black-necked Stork & Artichokesalso touches on themes of balance but with a more playfully dynamic scene. “The hanging artichokes, tied to thin red strings, create a rhythmic counterweight to the birds’ movements,” says Zomb. “The fallen artichoke reminds about the fragility of a balanced situation, when everything can be ruined. The scene suggests both a marketplace of ideas and the careful coordination that keeps the arrangement from toppling.” 

The Birds and Birdwatchers, 2025, oil on canvas, 38 x 50 in.

Other brand new works in his upcoming show at Caldwell Snyder Gallery in St. Helena, California, include The Birds and Bird Watchers, where a zebra stands on a seaside cliff, a dancer rests, whales breach in the distance, and birds fly in all directions. “It is a theater of watchers and the watched, where humans, animals and landscapes share a single, precarious harmony,” says Zomb. “The balancing act here is not only physical but also an ecological reminder of the interdependence among all living things. 

“Across these works I hoped to capture a world where precision and play coexist. Each composition invites viewers to feel the tension between stillness and motion, weight and lightness, and to reflect on the delicate balances that sustain relationships, nature and our own inner lives.”

Just Married: Siamese Firebacks, 2025, oil on canvas, 26 x 40 in.

Zomb’s solo show, The Art of Watching Birds, opens with a reception on November 8 from 4 to 6 p.m., and remains on view at Caldwell Snyder’s Napa Valley location through the end of the month. —

Caldwell Snyder Gallery 1328 Main Street • St. Helena, CA 94574 • (707) 200-5050  • www.caldwellsnyder.com 

Powered by Froala Editor