Roman Manikhin is a contemporary artist currently living and working in Berlin. Originally trained in communication design at Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry, he began his career in illustration and graphic design before fully focusing on painting and sculpture. This background continues to shape his visual language. His compositions combine the clarity of illustration with the physicality of oil painting — bold colors, layered narratives, exaggerated gestures and emotionally charged characters.
Manikhin’s work explores human relationships, emotional memory, desire, humor and psychological escape. His paintings often feel theatrical or cinematic: mermaids, animals, lovers and fragmented figures appear together inside unstable dreamlike spaces.
Over the last several years, his work has become more autobiographical. Themes of migration, family separation, anxiety, aging and social instability increasingly influence both the emotional tone and color structure of the paintings. Rather than creating idealized fantasy worlds, the artist uses surreal imagery as a way to process emotional reality. His works have been exhibited internationally in Berlin, Seoul, Tokyo, Madrid, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Moscow and New York.
