“Pictures at an Exhibition” is a new book by the master of non-fiction Alexander Genis (“Dovlatov and the Surroundings”, “The Bookman’s Kama Sutra”, “Return Address”), an intricate and exciting walk for the eye and mind. “Art,” the author admits, “plugs the same hole in the soul that religion has. They don't even argue and demand the same. Masterpieces, like the relics of saints, change those who believe in them. And the more we know about a painting, the more we want to know about ourselves: about how we will feel in its presence. Painting is a transformer of everyday life, and by sharing the same space with it, we find ourselves in a force field that transforms life into art.”