Works of Alexander Isachev presented at National Center for Contemporary Arts

9 апреля 2018

An exhibition of Alexander Isachev, a Belarusian artist without professional education, who In the midst of an anti-religious campaign turned to biblical motives, is held in Minsk.

The largest private collection of works by Isachev is kept in St. Petersburg.

Natalya Sharangovich, art critic, director of the National Center for Contemporary Arts: "The phenomenon of Isachev is that it really causes controversy: on the one hand he did not come to underground art or avant-garde in its pure form, because we are looking at his works and we understand that this is an art that grew out of the academic school, a purely academic school. Moreover, fr om the icon painting school."

The artist, who had no professional education, was able to turn the world of Soviet Belarusian art. In the late 70's, when no one thought about reviving the spiritual life, Isachev turned to Iconography.

He was adored by the audience and criticized by critics. Isachev independently studied the history of art and the theory of painting.

The only lifetime exhibition of Isachov was held in Rechitsa, the city wh ere he lived and worked. It was visited by more than 20 thousand people. People came to see pictures from different parts of the Soviet Union. By that time Isachev was a well-known artist. And a few days after the exposition was closed, the master was gone. He died at the easel at the age of 32.

And just a few months after his death, Isachov's exhibition was held at the House of Trade Unions. The exposition includes 32 works. There were no posters or advertisements. Nevertheless, more than 220 thousand people visited the exhibition. People stood in queues for 8 hours. The record is not broken even today.