View source for Alexander Kostetsky

{{Short description|Ukrainian painter and sculptor (1954–2010)}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Alexander Kostetsky
| image         = Александр Костецкий.jpg
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1954|11|14}}
| birth_place   = [[Kiev]], [[Ukraine]]
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2010|01|04|1954|11|14}}
| death_place   = Kyiv, Ukraine
| nationality   = [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]]
| field         = [[Painting]], [[Sculpture]]
| training      = Kyiv State Institute of Decorative and Applied Art and Design, Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Art
| website       = {{URL|http://www.akostetsky.com}}
}}

'''Alexander Kostetsky''' ([[Russian language|Russ.]] Александр Владимирович Костецкий, [[Ukrainian language|Ukr.]] Олександр Володимирович Костецький;, November 14, 1954 in [[Kiev]] – January 4, 2010 in Kyiv) was a [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] painter and sculptor. His name has various [[transliteration]]s into [[English alphabet|English]] and variants include Aleksandr Kostetsky, Alexander Kostecky, Alexander Kostetski and Aleksandr Kosteckij. His art style is [[Magic Realism]], [[Fantastic art]].

==Biography==
Kostetsky was born into a family of artists on 14 November 1954 in the Ukrainian capital of [[Kiev]]. His father was the academician painter Vladimir Kostetsky and his mother the [[sculpture|sculptor]] Galina Novokreshchenova. He was the grandson of the [[biologist]] Nikolai Danilovich Kostetsky. He developed his artistic talent under the guidance of his parents and attended the [[Shevchenko State Art School]] in Kiev, where he graduated in 1975. He extended his studies at the [[National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture]] in Kiev and graduated it in 1979 before beginning work in an art workshow.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://artru.info/uch/75/ |title=Киевский художественный институт, список выпускников |access-date=2015-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424072949/http://artru.info/uch/75/ |archive-date=2015-04-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the repressive [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] period, when artists needed state approval to exhibit in official galleries, he participated in underground art shows. He travelled widely in Ukraine and also visited the [[Caucasus]] and [[Central Asia]]. In 1988 he visited the United States with his first wife Helen Granova and was able to place his art in exhibitions in [[New York City]], [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], [[Philadelphia]] and other cities. Some of his paintings were bought by [[Norton Dodge]]'s personal museum and are still on display there. He also painted [[icon]]s for [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] churches in New York. Up to 1995 he regularly held exhibitions in the United States.

In 1998 he published an album of his prints in Kyiv. It was edited by his second wife, a teacher and [[mathematician]], who also wrote the introduction. He continued to hold regular exhibitions in Kyiv, usually in the gallery "Nef" in Laurel, where some of his work is on permanent display. In 2001 he visited the United States again to exhibit his art and in 2003 he exhibited in the [[Germany|German]] city of [[Mannheim]]. In November 2003 he was made a member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine. He continued to travel widely, visiting [[Egypt]] in 2007 and also [[India]] and [[Nepal]]. However, he began to suffer from problems with his [[heart]] and [[lung]]s, and he died January 4, 2010, at his home in Ukraine aged only 55.<ref name="2photo">{{cite web|url=http://2photo.ru/ru/post/18614|website=2photo.ru|title=Художник Александр Костецкий|access-date=2023-05-13}}</ref>

==Work==
During his childhood, Kostetsky began to create a distinctive style based on his love of mysterious [[SETI|alien civilization]]s and science fiction. At school he worked on sculpture, learning from his sculptor mother, and in the seventh grade he created a set of [[chess]] pieces intricately carved like [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[knight]]s. Later he sculpted in [[clay]], [[porcelain]] and other materials. At Kiev Art School and the Kiev State Institute, he began to master different styles of drawing in the style of the [[old master]]s. At the same time he developed his own style and technique of [[oil painting]], wishing to capture his unique artistic visions. However, while studying at the institute, the young Kostetsky had to obey to the canons of [[socialist realism]] and his early works do not always reflect his true interests. His heart was with friends in [[Ukrainian underground|underground]]   movement. In 1977, Alexander took part in an unofficial art exhibition by  the art association «Rukh» («Movement») along with such artists as [[Yuri Kosin]], Mykola Trehub, Vudon Baklitsky, [[Nicholas Zalevsky]], [[Olena Golub]]  and others.<ref>in Ukr.:''Olena Holub''. Anniversary of an underground exhibit.// [[Den (newspaper)|Den]] (The Day), 2007, &nbsp;– Dec.5 [https://day.kyiv.ua/uk/article/kultura/u-rusi]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://Akostetsky.com Alexander Kostetsky] – official site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150906062033/http://visualmelt.com/Aleksandr-Kosteckij Alexandr Kosteckij] at VisualMelt
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074637/http://www.grammatarium.com/2010/08/09/fallen-dreamworlds-of-aleksandr-kosteckij/ Fallen Dreamworlds of Alexandr Kosteckij]
* ''In ukr: [[Olena Golub]]. '' Alexander Kostetsky in the [[Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine]]. [http://esu.com.ua/search_articles.php?id=4002]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostetsky, Alexander}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Kyiv]]
[[Category:20th-century Ukrainian painters]]
[[Category:20th-century Ukrainian male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century Ukrainian painters]]
[[Category:21st-century Ukrainian male artists]]
[[Category:Fantastic art]]
[[Category:Fantasy artists]]
[[Category:Shevchenko State Art School alumni]]
[[Category:National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture alumni]]
[[Category:Ukrainian male sculptors]]
[[Category:Ukrainian male painters]]