The Precision of the Russian Realist To look at the work of Alexander Nikolaevich Averin is to witness a deliberate return to the technical rigor of the late 19th century. While much of the contemporary art world drifted toward abstraction, Averin anchored himself in the tangible. Born in Noginsk, Russia, in 1952, he developed a method that prioritizes the physical reality of his subjects. His training at the Moscow Art School, specif…