Alexander Zhyvotkov. Direction to North-East from ‘The Roads’ series

21 of September, White Space is featuring an exhibition of works by Alexander Zhivotkov. The artist has repudiated any standard clichés by unpretentiously naming his project a “program”.

The main idea of Zhivotkov’s Programs is the statement that in creativity, any material is a secondary thing. He has continued with the development of “The Roads” as a theme he finds important, and engaged in experiments with a range of materials and textures (canvas, oil, cardboard, wood).

‘This exhibition strikes me by its scale, integrity and the fact that Zhivotkov’s theme of “The Roads” transforms into a pathway to the Temple. Abstract as they are, our works always bear our secular experience. Sasha’s works still have the same nerve and tension as before, but the heavy drama is now converted into profound pondering. The signs and tokens always present in his works connect his art with antiquity – both national Ukrainian and Eastern cultures, which are a subject of Sasha’s keen interest. These works do display energy joint in matrimony with a Zen hush’.

Olga Petrova, art critic

‘Alexander is one of the artists working in periods betokened by inner quest and hard emotional experiences. He was always involved in metaphysics and always remarkably set himself off by dealing with issues really having little to do with esthetics. His works are not so much an artistic language as an investigation into energy-related things. Now Alexander is into a new coil of his creative spiral really interesting to follow up, because it’s difficult to imagine his next step. And this is the magic!’.

Yevgeny Karas, gallery expert

‘Sasha Zhitkov’s works are amazing, but the artist’s inner world is the thing that baffles me the most. What’s inside him? What are your thoughts? It’s beyond belief! Sasha’s been a long-time genius in my eyes. Although a genius is a case when one’s art passes the test of time. I believe Sasha is ahead of his time. I foresee that in an X number of years he’ll be referred to as one of “the great ones” whose creativity would endure centuries’.

Tatyana Savchenko, gallery expert