Urban Cityscapes
Moment in Prague — Tram 22 | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 25.5" × 16.1" | 2014 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Published in Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
L'Industrie — A Paris Moment | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 23.4" × 16.7" | 2015 | Available — Centerpiece of the solo exhibition at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Published in Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity (Gingko Press) and Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
Parisian Street | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 21.4" × 28.5" | 2015 | Private Collection — Published in Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1. Acquired by private collector, Winnetka.
Snowy New York | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 28.3" × 21.2" | 2016 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Published in Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity (Gingko Press) and Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
Venice Canal — Gondolas | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 32.2" × 20" | 2014 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Published in Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity (Gingko Press).
Photographer | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 21.98" × 13.3" | 2012 | Available — A solitary figure caught in a fleeting moment — rendered with the precision only ballpoint pen demands.
Sparkle at the Train Station | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 21.6" × 14.5" | 2012 | Available — A moment of pure emotion on a train platform — movement, light and connection frozen in monochrome.
Nocturne | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 26.1" × 17.5" | 2012 | Available — A solitary figure on a rain-soaked street, city lights dissolving into darkness — the most romantic and atmospheric work in the collection.
Madison Avenue — New York | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 32.2" × 18.1" | 2013 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. A cinematic panorama of Midtown Manhattan rendered in blue monochrome.
Fishermen in Istanbul | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 19.4" × 28.1" | 2013 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Fishermen on the Galata Bridge as the Hagia Sophia rises through the haze.
The Magnificent Mile — Chicago | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 28.3" × 21.2" | 2015 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Michigan Avenue rendered in extraordinary detail — created in the city where Poletaev's work was first exhibited at a major institution.
Streets of Paris | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 30.3" × 22.6" | 2013 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018.
End of Summer | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 28.7" × 21.6" | 2016 | Available — An Orthodox church presides over a sunlit city crossing — the sacred and the everyday in a single composition.
Sunny Day — Church of Cosmas and Damian | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 28.7" × 21.6" | 2016 | Available — Published in Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity (Gingko Press), Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1, and The Ballpointer.
Evening in Paris | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 30.3" × 22.4" | 2013 | Private Collection — Published in Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity (Gingko Press) and Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
Hollywood & Elegance
Humphrey Bogart — All Through the Night | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 17.7" × 20.8" | 2016 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Published in Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity (Gingko Press) and Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
Audrey Hepburn — Holly Golightly | Ballpoint pen and mixed techniques | Whatman paper | 28" × 21" | 2017 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018.
Audrey & Mr. Famous | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 26.1" × 19.6" | 2013 | Available — Audrey Hepburn and her Yorkshire Terrier rendered in striking blue monochrome — elegance and tenderness in a single composition.
Audrey Hepburn — Breakfast at Tiffany's | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 16" × 24.5" | 2017 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018.
Ingrid Bergman | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 16.3" × 11.8" | 2015 | Available — Selected for exhibition by the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018.
Marilyn Monroe | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 24.8" × 18.8" | 2013 | Available — Marilyn against bold graphic stripes — glamour and timeless presence rendered in pure monochrome ballpoint pen.
Sandra Bullock | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 21.4" × 17.5" | 2011 | Available — Playful, powerful, unmistakable — rendered in pure monochrome with the precision that defines the Hollywood Series.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 28.3" × 17.7" | 2013 | Available — A figure study in pure monochrome — light, shadow and skin rendered with the unforgiving exactness only ballpoint pen demands.
Wild | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 29.9" × 20" | 2011 | Available — Raw energy and movement frozen in monochrome. An early work that signals the full force of what was to come.
The Joker | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 27.9" × 20.4" | 2011 | Available
Wanted — Maleficent | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 30.5" × 19.6" | 2015 | Private Collection — A wanted poster reimagined as fine art. Bold, theatrical and completely original. Acquired by private collector.
Dance in Red I | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 21.1" × 33.8" | 2017 | Available — Centerpiece of the solo exhibition at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018.
Dance in Red II | Ballpoint pen | Whatman paper | 20" × 32.2" | 2017 | Available — Centerpiece of the solo exhibition at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, 2018. Back cover of Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
Art Mechanica
Art Mechanica | Ballpoint pen | Paper | 29.5" × 24" | 2016 | Available — A mechanical figure, a lady in black, train wheels and street lamps — rendered entirely in ballpoint pen. The work that defined the Art Mechanica collection. Featured in The Ballpointer.
Rhino Mechanica | Terra Incognita | Mixed media | Whatman paper | 21" × 21" | 2018 | Available — A mechanical rhinoceros carrying the weight of unknown territory. Latin inscriptions, compass rose, kinematic equations and a Russian physics law concealed within the composition. Five mediums. Opening page of Above Art Magazine, Issue No. 1.
Flight of Whimsy | Mixed media | Whatman paper | 24" × 24" | 2018 | Available — Gravity defied, logic abandoned — rendered with the obsessive precision that defines every piece in the Art Mechanica collection. Featured in The Ballpointer. Published in Novosti Chicago, Issue No. 225.
Vintage Operator | Graphite | Paper | 22" × 27" | 2018 | Available — A Victorian lady aboard a steampunk contraption — hanging lanterns, pressure gauges, a mechanical rabbit co-pilot, a misty forest beyond.
Generation | Ballpoint pen on paper | 2019 | Currently on international exhibition — inquire for availability A crawling child wearing a gas mask, carrying a house and a wheel — a meditation on the weight of the modern world. One of the most conceptually powerful works in the collection.
Pink Carnival | Mixed media | 2020 | Currently on international exhibition — inquire for availability A female face, a jester, a lantern — all suspended in a world of pink and black stripes. Theatrical, surreal and completely unlike anything else in contemporary art.
Nocturne Mechanica | 2020 | Currently on international exhibition — inquire for availability Where the mechanical meets the nocturnal — a companion piece to Art Mechanica and an evolution of everything the collection stands for.
Miniatures
Dance Study I — Miniature Ballpoint pen on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available Two figures in motion — flowing fabric, intertwined limbs, pure blue monochrome. A miniature from the Elegance collection.
Dance Study II — Miniature Ballpoint pen on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available A dancer against geometric lines and circles — movement and mathematics in perfect balance. Pure blue ballpoint pen.
Dance Study III — Miniature Ballpoint pen on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available Three dancers intertwined — grace, strength and precision captured in blue monochrome. From the Elegance collection.
Dance Study IV — Miniature Ballpoint pen on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available A dancer in full flight — music notes, sweeping curves and pure kinetic energy rendered in blue ballpoint pen.
European Street — Miniature Pencil on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available A sun-drenched European street scene — cobblestones, café umbrellas and period architecture captured in delicate pencil.
Chateau — Miniature Ballpoint pen on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2016 | Available A romantic chateau reflected in still water — spires, gabled rooftops and summer trees in striking blue ballpoint pen.
Istanbul at Dusk — Miniature Pencil on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available A ferry crosses the Bosphorus as the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque rise through the haze. Istanbul at its most atmospheric.
Rome — Miniature Pencil on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available A bridge over the Tiber, St. Peter's dome rising beyond — Rome captured in quiet, timeless pencil.
Strasbourg — Miniature Pencil on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available A modern tram glides past Haussmann facades as the Strasbourg Cathedral spire rises in the distance. Old and new in perfect balance.
Tram No. 24 — Miniature Ballpoint pen and mixed techniques | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2016 | Available A boy stands alone as Tram 24 approaches — bold, graphic and deeply nostalgic. A childhood memory rendered in ballpoint pen and mixed techniques.
Tram No. 3107 — Miniature Ballpoint pen and mixed techniques | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2016 | Available Soviet-era Tram 3107 rolls through a summer street — passengers, shadows and the unmistakable atmosphere of another era.
Tram No. 23 — Miniature Pencil on paper | 8.25" × 11.5" | 2017 | Available Tram 23 emerges through a misty winter landscape — bare trees, power lines and the quiet poetry of an ordinary moment.