Russian artist Alexander Dolgikh was born and raised in Crimea, south of Russia. Alexander grew up in the artistic atmosphere, his grandmother, Nadezhda Kucher was a Professor of Architecture at St. Petersburg Academy of Art. Their neighbours were Russian artist Andrei Panteleev and Angelina Alexandrova, a well-known local storyteller and later, Alexander’s nanny. On his 8th birthday, Alexander Dolgikh got a gift from his grandmother – it was a book of Dresden Gallery reproductions. Enchanted by the beauty of the paintings, he later realized his dream. Alexander entered The Art College of N.S.Samokish, Simferopol, then he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kiev. In 1992 he returned to his hometown and worked as a painter – decorator in Crimean Academic Russian Drama Theater named after M. Gorky.
Alexander Dolgikh mastered various drawing and painting techniques with an emphasis on the human figure. Having always had a deep appreciation and fascination with ancient history, mythology, legends and fairy-tales, later this will be reflected in all his paintings.
A strong academic background with professional training in Art Materials and Technology has helped Alexander to create a method that enables him to combine oil and acrylic paints in the same painting. The idea inspired by Franz Hals practice of combining oil with watercolours, is further developed and tested by Dolgikh.
His first big international debut took place in 1996 in Barcelona ArtExpo. After he moved to Prague, the artist’s works were exhibited in Dublin, London, Melbourne. Since 2005, Alexander has a permanent exhibition of his works in the gallery of European modern art in Prague. Graham Fine Art is proud to present Alexander Dolgikh exclusively in The United Kingdom.
Alexander Dolgikh ‘s statements
“A myth is a story which serves a purpose: to explain the origins of something like Tintoretto’s ‘Origins of the Milky Way’, or to give a warning like Titian’s ‘Diana and Actaeon’, or to serve as an example or a symbol. Such a story is usually easy to understand, involving strong and simple emotions and clear and basic relationships. But not just any story. The great myths illustrate and explain to each generation something about the order of the world”.
“The fairy tale journey may look like an outward trek across plains and mountains, through castles and forests, but the actual movement is inward, into the lands of the soul. The dark path of the fairy tale forest lies in the shadows of our imagination, the depths of our unconscious. To travel to the wood, to face its dangers, and to emerge transformed by this experience”.