Сергей Алиев-Ковика
Aliyev-Kovyka Serhiy Yakovych He was born in 1956 in Babayivka village of the Tsarychanka District, Dnipropetrovs’k Oblast. The artist lives and works in the city of Dnipropetrovs’k; graduated from the Faculty of Arts and technical design of printed materials of the Moscow Polygraphic Institute (modern Moscow State University of Printing Arts) in 1987, worked in the Mai Miturich Workshop, was awarded in ‘publishing business’ the nomination with Valerian Pidmohylny Prize by the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine of Dnipropetrovs’k Oblast in 2006; won in ‘The best museum poster’ nomination of The First Pan-Ukrainian festival of museums in Dnipropetrovs’k, which was held in the Yavornytsky Historical Museum, in 2005. The artist’s works vary greatly. These are mainly pieces of art and book printing. Additionally, the artist takes interest in printmaking (woodcut), sculptural arts (of stone, iron, wood), paper cutting (vytynanky), and photography. The image expression of Serhiy Aliyev-Kovyka is not strictly external. The sensitive and fierce form of his colorful compositions reflects the artist’s dramatic inner world. Even in his strong structures of monumental still life paintings or bathers’ scenes, he remains impulsive and unpredictable in the final piece: although he starts from life and nature, he often estranges himself. The tangible essence of his art is rough and ethereal at the same time. Although it is extremely massive, it blends into the environment, the surroundings, and the nature. The expressive part of the artist’s works can be found not only in formal criteria (the color intensity and emancipation, the strong stroke effect), but also in the representation of the object. The artist transforms this object through extremity and exaggeration into the fictitious and unreal ‘imaginary object’, well-known feature of expressionism. This is the way the artist takes his stand. The artist took part in the following exhibitions: V. Pidmogylny’s centenary exhibition (2001, “Literary Prydniprovya” museum) Ivan Manzhura’s 150th anniversary exhibition (2001, “Literary Prydniprovya” museum) V. Pidmogylny’ 105th anniversary exhibition (2006, “Literary Prydniprovya” museum) Hryhorii Skovoroda‘s 285th anniversary exhibition (2007, “Literary Prydniprovya” museum) N. Gogol’s 200th anniversary exhibition of ex libris and printmaking (2008, “Literary Prydniprovya” museum) Solo exhibitions: “Ukrainian rag doll” exhibition – The USSR Toy Museum, Zagorsk, 1986. The photography exhibition “Going” – “Literary Prydniprovya” museum, 2001. The engraving and painting exhibition – “Literary Prydniprovya” museum, 2006. The museum poster exhibition “Artist and Museum” – “Literary Prydniprovya” museum, 2008. All the works are kept in the Zagorsk USSR Toy Museum, the Dnipropetrovs’k Museum of Art, the Yavornitsky Historical Museum’s department “Literary Prydniprovya”; in private collections in Dnipropetrovs’k, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Moscow, Canada, Israel, the UK, and the USA.