> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.catapult-platform.art/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Much Distance Does Intimacy Require? - URL: https://www.catapult-platform.art/andrey-samarin-lera-derkach-simchowitz-hill-house-pasadena/ - Published: 2026-03-18T05:09:16.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-18T10:57:55.000Z - Description: Simchowitz presents Two of Us, a joint exhibition by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach at Hill House, Pasadena. - Author: Dominique Catherina Foertig - Tags: Exhibition **Two of Us - Simchowitz** **Artists:** [Lera Derkach](https://www.instagram.com/lederkach/?ref=catapult-platform.art)and [Andrey Samarin](https://www.instagram.com/andreysamarin1/?ref=catapult-platform.art) **Exhibition:** Two of Us **Venue:** [ Simchowitz, Hill House Pasadena ](https://www.simchowitz.com/?ref=catapult-platform.art) **City:** Pasadena, United States **Dates:** 15 February 2026 — 11 April 2026 **Curator:** Simchowitz **Image Courtesy:** [Courtesy Simchowitz ](https://www.instagram.com/stefansimchowitz/?ref=catapult-platform.art) ## Simchowitz Presents Two of Us at Hill House, Pasadena There is a particular kind of attention that develops between people who share a studio for years without merging into one. It is not collaboration. It is something closer to a calibration, an ongoing, largely silent adjustment to another presence. When that presence also paints, the calibration leaves traces in the work itself. > Samarin and Derkach do not paint toward each other. They paint in each other's presence and that difference, held across years of shared space, is what this exhibition refuses to collapse. Hill House in Pasadena carries the particular character of a domestic interior pressed into service as an exhibition space. Proportions are intimate, light falls obliquely, walls hold an accumulated history that white-cube architecture has trained out of itself. For two painters who have been living and working side by side in France for the past three years, this venue seems less a coincidence than a structural decision: the space itself mirrors the exhibition's premise, which is that proximity and domesticity can produce a specific, unrepeatable kind of dialogue. ![Bulb painting by Andrey Samarin in Two of Us exhibition presented by Simchowitz at Hill House Pasadena featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/simchowitz-exhibition-landrey-samarin.webp) Andrey Samarin, **Bulb*, 2025\. Acrylic, oil stick, oil pastel and wax crayon on canvas. 53 × 76 × 1.25 in. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Je ne sais pas painting by Lera Derkach, colorful figurative composition with stylized faces and characters in oil and charcoal on canvas.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-je-ne-sais-pas-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Lera Derkach, **Je ne sais pas*, 2024\. Oil and charcoal on canvas, 80 × 58.5 × 1.25 in. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Blooming song painting by Lera Derkach, figurative composition of a figure holding a horn-like instrument in oil sticks, charcoal, acrylic and watercolor crayons on canvas.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-blooming-song-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Lera Derkach, **blooming song*, 2024\. Oil sticks, charcoal, acrylic, watercolor crayons on canvas, 39 × 39 × 1.25 in. Courtesy Simchowitz The two bodies of work that fill Hill House share no formal strategy, Samarin entering through gesture and material before image, Derkach through narrative, memory, and the slow accumulation of story into form. What they share is harder to locate: a quality of sustained attention, a willingness to remain in difficulty without reaching for resolution. Three years of proximity, it seems, does not produce influence. It produces precision. Two Ukrainian artists painting through the third year of full-scale war in the country they left, this context does not need to be announced to be present. The exhibition does not frame itself as testimony or document. But the insistence on working beside rather than apart, on remaining distinct while remaining attentive, carries a charge that no formal description of the work fully accounts for. What it means to keep painting in close proximity to another person's practice, across years, across continents, without letting either voice absorb the other, may be a question that only the work itself, hung together in one room, can begin to hold. [**Follow Lera Derkach on Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/lederkach/?ref=catapult-platform.art) [**Follow Andrey Samarin on Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/andreysamarin1/?ref=catapult-platform.art) [**Follow the Founder Stefan Simchowitz on Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/stefansimchowitz/?ref=catapult-platform.art) [**Follow the Simchowitz Gallery on Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/simchowitzgallery/?ref=catapult-platform.art) --- ## Notable Works and Exhibition Views ![Untitled painting by Andrey Samarin featuring layered graffiti-like lines, collage elements and abstract shapes in acrylic, spray paint, oil stick and graphite on pink canvas.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-untitled-abstract-painting-two-of-us.webp) Andrey Samarin, **Untitled*, 2023\. Acrylic, oil stick, spray paint, watercolor crayon, collage and graphite on canvas, 78 × 94 × 1.5 in. Courtesy Simchowitz ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-green-figurative-painting-contemporary-art.webp) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-contemporary-circle-paintings-two-of-us.webp) Andrey Samarin: **Suvyi*, 2025 (left), acrylic, oil stick and oil pastel on canvas, 46.5 × 30.5 × 1.25 in; **Double traffic light*, 2025 (right), acrylic on vinyl, 11.61 × 11.61 in (each). Courtesy Simchowitz ![Vecheria painting by Lera Derkach showing a long banquet table scene with colorful figurative characters, animals and food across an extended panoramic canvas.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-vecheria-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Lera Derkach, **vecheria*, 2024\. Oil, charcoal, watercolor and crayons on canvas, 78 × 294 × 1.25 in. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Raf raf bytva drawing by Lera Derkach showing expressive charcoal lines forming intertwined animal figures resembling a tiger and crocodile in a dynamic composition.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-raf-raf-bytva-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Lera Derkach, **Raf raf bytva*, 2024\. Charcoal on canvas, 76.5 × 98 × 1.25 in. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of the exhibition Dinner Table at Simchowitz featuring paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach displayed in a modern bedroom interior setting.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/two-of-us-contemporary-painting-exhibition-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz showing paintings by Andrey Samarin and circular works by Lera Derkach displayed in a bedroom-like interior installation.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/two-of-us-contemporary-art-exhibition-installation.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz showing paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach installed above a bed within a staged domestic interior.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-figurative-painting-installation-two-of-us.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, featuring paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach displayed in a staged bedroom interior with bed, record player and wooden deck outside.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-contemporary-painting-installation-two-of-us.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, featuring circular paintings by Lera Derkach and a large painting by Andrey Samarin within a staged bedroom interior.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-circle-paintings-installation-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, featuring large paintings by Lera Derkach displayed in a wood-lined gallery interior with pool table and lounge seating.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-blue-figurative-painting-installation-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, featuring large paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach displayed in a wood-lined gallery interior with pool table and lounge seating](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/two-of-us-contemporary-art-exhibition-installation-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, featuring large paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach in a wood-paneled gallery lounge with vintage seating and hi-fi speakers.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/andrey-samarin-abstract-painting-installation-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, showing a large figurative painting by Andrey Samarin centered above a turntable and speakers.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/contemporary-abstract-painting-installation-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, featuring a large abstract painting by Lera Derkach on a wood-paneled wall.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-charcoal-drawing-installation-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, with multiple paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach displayed around a pool table.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-figurative-painting-installation-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. Courtesy Simchowitz ![Installation view of Dinner Table at Simchowitz Hilltop, Los Angeles, with multiple paintings by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach displayed around a pool table.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1c/24/1c2478ff-417d-4e88-8226-288af467f6b9/content/images/2026/03/lera-derkach-figurative-painting-contemporary-art-two-of-us-simchowitz.webp) Installation view of Two of Us, presented by Simchowitz at Hill House, Pasadena, featuring works by Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach. 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