Alexander Aksinin
Alexander Aksinin (October 2, 1949 — May 3, 1985) was a well-regarded printmaker and painter. He was born in Lviv, Soviet Union, on October 2, 1949, and died in a plane crash near Lviv on May 3, 1985. His sophisticated etching technique, precision and perfectionist attention to details earned him the sobriquet the “Dürer of Lviv”.[1] Art critics hailed him as “a 20th century Piranesi” for his dramatic and elaborate constructs.[2]
Alexander Aksinin | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | May 3, 1985 35) | (aged
Nationality | |
Education | Ukrainian Institute of Printing |
Known for | Graphics art |
Biography
Alexander Aksinin was born to military cartographer Dmitriy Aksinin and railroad official Ludmila Aksinina. In 1972 he graduated from the Ukrainian Institute of Printing, where he specialized in Graphics Arts. In 1972–1977 Aksinin worked as an art editor in a publishing house, served in the Soviet army and then worked as an art designer in an industrial design office. Since 1977 he focused entirely on his art, in particular in the fields of printed and drawn graphics.
In 1981 Alexander Aksinin wrote the following brief autobiography for poet V. Krivulin's (in Russian) essay, where real and factual events are melded together with metaphysical observations:
In 1949 a Russian-like man was born in a European-like city of Lvov.
Christian Orthodox.
1972 - a diploma of Ukrainian Institute of Print, with specialization on Graphics.
1977 - the 1st revelation with associated sense of time.
1981 - the 2nd revelation with associated sense of eternity.
1979 - the first solo exhibition in Tallinn.
1981 - the second one in Poland.
That's it.
On May 3, 1985, on his way back from Tallinn, Alexander Aksinin died died in a plane crash near Zolochiv, close to Lviv.
Art
A. Aksinin made 343 printed graphics including 3 unfinished works (mainly etching), about 200 unique drawn graphics in mixed techniques (gouache, India ink, color ink), as well as five oil paintings.[3]
Exhibitions
Since 1974 A. Aksinin graphics have been shown at various personal and group exhibitions worldwide.[4] The artist regularly participated in the International Biennale of Small Graphics Forms in Łódź (Poland), where he was awarded Honorable Medals[5] in 1979 and 1985.
In 2015 his etching series "Boschiana" was included in the permanent exposition of the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center in 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
List of Personal Exhibitions
- 2017 Aksinin's Labyrinths. National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
- 2014 Alexander Aksinin. Methagraphics: The Insight Experience. Lviv National Art Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine
- 2013 Poetics of the Absurd, Gallery la Brique, Frankfurt, Germany
- 2012 Metagraphics: Alexander Aksinin. Gallery Pionova, Gdansk, Poland
- Aks-Art & Aks-Libris. Exlibris Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
- 2010 Aksinin. Excessus. Gallery Vata, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
- Alexander Aksinin. National Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
- 2009 Alexander Aksinin: The Inner Experience. Art Gallery Primus, Lviv, Ukraine
- 2008 Aksinin: Eternal Books - Visual Images. Exhibition Hall of Don State Public Library, Rostov-on-Don, Russia (video)
- 2008 Time-Space-Eternity. The State Museum of A.Pushkin, Moscow, Russia (Video on YouTube)
- 2006 Alexander Aksinin. Day R. Museum of Contemporary Visual Art on Dmitrovskoy, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
- 2001 Alexander Aksinin's Etchings. Gallery Dzyga, Lviv, Ukraine (video)
- 1992 Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia
- 1991 Museum of Russian Art, Kiev, Ukraine
- 1988 66 Etchings of Alexander Aksinin from private collections. Gallery of Graphics and Drawings, Gdynia, Poland; Muzeum Zamkowe, Malbork, Poland
- 1987 Museum of Ukrainian Art, Lviv, Ukraine
- 1985 Gallery In Blanco, Łódź, Poland
- 1985 Art Saloon, Tallinn, Estonia
- 1984 Gallery of Contemporary Soviet Art, Warsaw, Poland
- 1981 January — Gallery Bałucka, Łódź, Poland
- 1979 Estonian State Art Institute, Tallinn, Estonia
Selected sources
- Michael Sokolov A Free Grandson of the Black Square - On the Art of Alexander Aksinin
- Igor Vvedensky Alexander Aksinin – A Meta-Graphic Artist
- Grzegorz Matuszak The World According to Alexander Aksinin
- Victor Krivulin Etchings of Alexander Aksinin // Toronto Slavic Quarterly, № 6, Fall 2003 (in Russian)
Video materials
- Petition in June on YouTube. Video-art by Ilya Gimmelfarb, Boris Berger, Sergey Kuzminsky, 2003
- A. Aksinin in Pictures and Slides: Lvov-Tallinn, 1970s - 80s. Slideshow by Michael Zelen, 2009
- Drawn Graphics of Alexander Aksinin. Slideshow by Michael Zelen, 2012
- Reports on Precedents-Ethernity on YouTube. Collage Slideshow by Igor Vvedensky, 2013
References
- Igor Klekh. Between Escher and Borges: On A. Aksinin's Exhibition in the National Center for Contemporary Art // The Herald of Europe, №30, 2011 (in Russian).
- Michael Sokolov. A Free Grandson of the Black Square - On the Art of Alexander Aksinin
- The complete gallery of all A. Aksinin's works, along with full catalogues, are presented at the artist's digital resource.
- All the artist's personal and group exhibitions are listed at the artist's site.
- "Miejska Galeria Sztuki (Municipal Art Gallery)". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-01-22.