“Caprice,” an exhibit of paintings and mixed media by Russian artist Vasily Polevoy, is now on display in the Blowers Gallery at UNC Asheville’s Ramsey Library.

Vasily’s works have been shown throughout the former Soviet Union, many European nations, Israel and the United States, but his paintings from the pre-Glasnost era were once “underground,” since they did not meet the ideological approval of Soviet authorities. His work combines the fantastic with the realistic, and sometimes involves humor and caricature. He is a graduate of the Higher University of Art and Science in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).

Vasily has also created several mosaics for churches in Hendersonville as well as Greenville, S.C., where he now lives.

The style of Vasily's works is fantastic and realistic at the same time and is permeated with a humor that sometimes stretches out to grotesque and caricature with an incredible combination of both trickery and simple-heartedness.

Blowers Gallery is free and open to the public. The gallery is open daily and the exhibit runs through February 28 with some evening viewing hours. For more information, visit unca.edu or call 828.251-6436.