The Russian Academy Of Arts

Tsereteli Arts Gallery presents an exhibition of paintings created by Alexander Tokarev for the last twenty years. The artist’s creative method is based on a free interpretation of mythological topics, musical themes and a combination of genres and techniques. The main sources for his plastic and color language is an “ideal painting” of the Renaissance, Russian icon and avant-garde of the early 20th century. Alexander Tokarev graduated from the Odessa College of Arts and in 1972 – from the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography. His first solo show took place in 1974 in the halls of the USSR Union of Artists, 10 Gogolevsky Boulevard, Moscow. He is one of not many contemporary artists who create polyptychs consisting of five or more parts. According to the author’s message they are similar to symphony canvases. His painting is polysemantic and looks like a hypertext full of cultural archetypes and symbols, literary references and philosophical allusions. The artist interprets diverse events in life filling well-known topics with a new content, creates paradoxical metaphors for such human notions as Love, Creativity, Childhood, Memory, Motherland, Time. Alexander Tokarev “plays” with symbols, myths and archetypes, in his Theater of Life are organically combined a divine and human comedy, an epic theater and a theater of absurdity, mythology and reality. “… The history turns into parables. The time grinds facts which are comprehended more deep. I tell parables in my own language. I do not illustrate, I let them through making additions and inventing my own ones. The exhibition coincides with several festivities and elections. It is good time to think of love, power, human essence …” – says Alexander Tokarev. The artist’s works are in museum and private collections in Russia, Ukraine, France, Great Britain, Italy, the United States, Japan, Belgium, Czech Republic and other countries. Of big success were his solo shows in Paris. In 2008-2009 Alexander Tokerav’s retrospective exhibitions were held in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The solo show in Tsereteli Art Gallery has been organized under support of ART-BRAND Producer Center and ART-YAR Gallery.




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