Alexander Bondarchuk
b. Dnipro, Ukraine, 1957
y. active 1989 - present
Red Forest
pastel on paper, 13.8 x 19.7 in
Created on May 9, 2022
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See all of the works in the exhibit HERE
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At the time of painting, the artist was in Dnipro in central Ukraine in his suburban studio. He did not have to flee.
$1,300
All proceeds go to help artists in Ukraine and to foster US-Ukraine cultural ties and cooperation. Please use Contact Form or see restaurant staff if you are interested in purchasing.
This painting has a sad and sinister meaning. When Chornobyl disaster happened, the first and the most contaminated cloud descended on a small patch of forest nearby turning it red-orange virtually overnight. For decades this area has been off limits and deemed one of the most dangerous on Earth. In recent years the radiation subsided, but the soil remained very dangerous. When the Russian forces took over that area, out of ignorance and the lack of respect to the land they were on, they began digging trenches in that forest. This had disastrous consequences for a lot of Russian soldiers, many were later admitted to hospitals in Belarus with acute radiation poisoning.
Alexander was born in the city of Dnipro (then Dnipropertrovsk) - a major industrial city in the center of the country, where the largest bank is headquartered, and space rockets are being built. At the age of 10 Alexander started art school finishing in four years. Later, he graduated from the Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture in his native city, while apprenticing with a variety of accomplished sculptors and painters from all of the former Soviet Union. In 2001 he founded his own architecture and design studio -DAN- finishing many private and public projects in Ukraine. Alexander enjoyed taking part in the international design competitions, winning several, most notably a door handle for the upscale Italian design house - Linea Cali, and design of the hotel suites for a European hotel chain. Some of his submissions can be seen here. When the first phase of the war began in 2014 he had to close his studio and found himself in pottery and utilitarian art.
