Background
Grisha Bruskin grew up in Moscow at the time when Jews gradually shed the mark of Cain - a source of shame and embarrassment - and projected a sense of pride and affirmation.
When Chagall inaugurated a small show of lithographs in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery in 1973, Bruskin became aware of the vanished world of the shtetl he knew only from books, and began to dream of exhibiting his own Jewish-themed work.
His 1982 painting In the Red Space attracted unfavorable attention from the authorities for depicting a golem wearing a Soviet uniform, carrying a synagogue out of which people are falling, all against a red background. His first solo exhibitions a few years later, however, were denounced and forced to close for "promoting Zionism".
From 1983 he starts working on "Alefbet Lexicon" and "Fundamental Lexicon" series.
In 1989 Bruskin emigrates to New York and begins to regularly exibit internationally.
In 2005/07 participates in the first and second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art.