Alexander Bondarchuk
b. Dnipro, Ukraine, 1957
y. active 1989 - present
The Road Home. Return
pastel on paper, 13.8 x 19.7 in
Created on May 14, 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 piece evokes a feeling of nostalgia and that bittersweet moment when you return home after a long and complicated journey. The rhythm here is meant to mimic the movement of trees outside of a car window as you drive by. It was painted in May after the Russian forces were forced out of the north of Ukraine and a glimmer of hope appeared. Many who fled began coming back, cities were coming back to life. It felt like it would be over soon.
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.
