The pictures are painted by me, but do not belong to me. The most expensive Ukrainian artist Anatoly Kryvolap: “For two days I burned my paintings, kindling a fire in my own area”

Famous Ukrainian artist Anatoly Kryvolap set a new world record for sales of Ukrainian art on the international market contemporary art.

Record at the auction of contemporary art

On the auction contemporary art Phillips de Pury & Co painting “Horse. Night, created by Anatoly Kryvolap, was sold for a record amount for Ukrainian art - $ 124.4 thousand. This was almost three times the original cost of the painting.

Mystical landscape “Horse. Night" took sixth place at the auction of Phillips de Pury & Co. The work of the Ukrainian artist was sold together with the works of recognized world masters of contemporary art such as Wade Guyton, Anselm Reilly, George Condo.

"Horse. Night"

Anatoly Kryvolap, even before the sale of this painting, was the most expensive Ukrainian artist. His painting "The Steppe" was sold at Phillips de Pury & Co in New York for $98.5 thousand.

Victory of Ukrainian art

Head and co-founder auction house Phillips de Pury & Co, art critic and curator Simon de Pury commented on the record sale of a Ukrainian artist's work: “This sale is a real victory for Ukrainian art. We consider Anatoly Kryvolap a very promising artist. Our auction house and will definitely work with Anatoly Kryvolap and other Ukrainian artists in the future.”

In addition to the work of Anatoly Krivolap, from the auction of Phillips de Pury & Co. was sold famous picture Viktor Sidorenko from the Levitation project, which represented Ukraine in 2003 at the Venice Biennale. It was sold for $23.7 thousand.

The painting by the famous Odessa artist Igor Gusev “The Return of Elvis” from the Cosmo collection was sold for $16,000. And the photo of Vitaly and Elena Vasiliev from the No Art project, created at the M17 Center for Contemporary Art, went under the hammer for $8,000.

A total of 171 pieces were sold at the Phillips de Pury & Co. togas held in mid-October in New York contemporary art, and the proceeds from their sale amounted to $5.7 million.

Anatoly Krivolap is the most demanded artist of Ukraine

Anatoly Krivolap was born on September 11, 1946 in the city of Yagotyn, Kyiv region. He is a graduate of the Kyiv State Art Institute. Famous artist V this moment is a leading member of the "Picturesque Reserve" group.

Anatoly Kryvolap is the most sought-after Ukrainian artist, whose works are sold with great success at the most famous auctions in the world - Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury & Co.

Over a glass of chardonnay, the most fashionable and expensive Ukrainian artist talks about how prices for his paintings are formed and what he does not spare money for

From the second floor of the Kyiv restaurant Monaco, there is an excellent view of Podol with its main attractions: the Gonchary-Kozhemyaki tract, St. Andrew's Church, and Landscape Alley right in front of the windows.

For the sake of this panorama, Anatoly Krivolap, the most successful artist in Ukraine, often drops by in Monaco. The cost of his paintings beats national records: on average, canvases are sold for $70,000. The status of the “most expensive” has turned Krivolap’s works into an obligatory decor item for receptions, offices and living rooms of many successful compatriots, and his name has become a brand.

Right in Monaco main star modern Ukrainian visual arts decides to have lunch with HB. However, Krivolap was in vain looking forward to the pleasure of admiring the view while eating: NV unknowingly booked a table on the first floor of the restaurant, where twilight reigns and the windows are tightly curtained.

Five questions to Anatoly Krivolap:

- What is your biggest achievement?
- I managed to go through 20 years of searching for myself without hysteria, which often turns into alcohol and drugs. It was interesting job, but psychologically it was very difficult, and I did not break. I didn’t burn myself, I didn’t get angry. I just endured. He bore it with dignity, like a man.

- What is your biggest failure?
“I wouldn't want him to be ahead.

— How do you move around the city?
- Porsche Cayenne 2015.

What was the last book you read that made an impression?
- Jew is the profession of Valery Primost.

Who wouldn't you shake hands with?
- A traitor in all its manifestations.

“This is not comfort, but wretchedness,” Krivolap is annoyed, sitting down at the table. Keeping outward courtesy, the celebrity does not hide his displeasure, noting that the view is the most important thing for him, he would never “sit against the wall”.

Low prices are degrading. Not only an artist, but also a collector

The conflicting theme is replaced by the appearance of the menu on the table. Krivolap immediately warns that, contrary to the editorial policy (NV treats those with whom he dine during the interview), he will pay: “This is my rule.”

I just have to obey.

“Let me take foie gras according to the tradition,” after a few minutes the artist is identified and admits that this is his favorite dish, which he tried in many restaurants in Ukraine. In his opinion, the best foie gras is served in Uzhgorod, in the restaurant of the Old Continent Hotel. "It's in there with blackberry sauce," Crookedleg says. "Fantastic." And then he clarifies: for Ukraine. Once he ordered this symbol of gastronomic chic in one of the old Michelin-starred restaurants in Alsace, and since then everything that is called foie gras in Ukraine reminds the artist of “pork rinds”.

However, there was no foie gras in Monaco.

"Then let's have this thing," Crookedleg says to the waiter, pointing at the menu for baked eggplant with mozzarella.

— Perhaps you should also have veal fillet with them? the waiter suggests.

“The thing is, I don’t usually have lunch. I eat only in the morning and in the evening, - as if Krivolap is justified. - In the evening, I would show you the class.

However, he does not refuse veal and, without looking at the menu, orders wine - two glasses of chardonnay, as it turned out later, for 500 UAH each.

Today Krivolap lives in grand style. From 2010 to 2015, 18 of his paintings for a total of almost $800,000 left domestic and international auctions.

It is impossible to publish reproductions of Krivolap's works in the newspaper. Printing will not convey the play of color that has already captivated art lovers all over the world and made their author the best-selling Ukrainian artist. On May 29, at Sotheby's in London, his landscape "Night" was sold for $83,700. The buyer is an Englishman, his name is not known.

And last year for his "Moon over the River" and "Steppe" paid 48 and 98 thousand dollars, respectively. And for the work "Horse. Night" - it is considered the most mystical by the artist - in New York they did not spare 124 thousand dollars.

What is the secret of success? Art dealer Igor Abramovich believes that this is the soul that is hidden in the paintings of Krivolap.

- "New Ukrainian Landscape", as Kryvolap's work was dubbed, is mesmerizing! First of all, bright saturated colors, where even the deep blue color brought into the "cold" seems incredibly warm. The author did not immediately come to this style of writing, since he received a classical education in his youth. But he began to look for himself, worrying like everyone else creative people, stages of frustration followed by ups. The quiet village of Zasupoevka in the Kyiv region, which since 2000 has become a source of inspiration for him, helped Krivolap survive one of the most difficult moments in his life. In his workshop in this village, Krivolap and now spends all free time. He does not go to secular parties, he does not communicate with the press. True, he made an exception for KP.

I went through the most difficult period from 1976 to 1989,” the artist told us. - Years of searching and rethinking... After that everything went relatively well. Auctions are good, but this year I became a laureate National Prize them. Shevchenko. These last years have been the most successful for me.

Anatoly Dmitrievich, your paintings are dominated by blue, violet, bright Orange color. Why did you choose this range?

It's more like I didn't choose the color. And the color chose me. But seriously, it's intuitive...

What does the name of the most expensive Ukrainian artist mean to you: recognition, fame, material well-being?

I think that for every creative person the main thing is self-realization. Everything else is secondary.

What do you spend your sales money on?

Most of my paintings that are exhibited at auctions, including Ukrainian ones, are painted by me, but do not belong to me. As are the fees. (The artist hints that the paintings that were paid for large sums, were put up for auction not by him, but by a dealer. - Approx. ed.) The work of an artist is financially expensive. Purchase of canvases, paints and payment for the workshop. Family… The sale of paintings is actually unstable, periodic.

Have a picture that you haven't created yet?

It is known that the artist experiences a "romance" with each painting. And when it ends, you always hope that the new one will be fuller, more interesting. Otherwise, further work simply would not make sense.

To the point

In May this year, Sotheby's sold a painting by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch "The Scream" for $ 119.9 million. This is the most large sum that has ever been paid for a work of art at auction.

By the way

TOP-5 most expensive artists of Ukraine

Alexander ROYTBURD. In June 2009, at a London auction, his painting "Farewell, Caravaggio!" was sold for $97,000.

Vasily TSAGOLOV. In the summer of 2009 in London, his work from the series "Office Love-2" went into the hands of a Western collector for $53,600.

Oleg TISTOL. At the Phillips de Pury & Co auction, Tistol's "Sea" from the South Coast project was bought for $28,750.

Alexander KLIMENKO. In the summer of 2011, his "India. Goa" became the most expensive Ukrainian lot of the Phillips de Pury & Co auction and was sold for $25,000.

Igor Gusev. At the same auction, "The Return of Elvis" from the "Cosmo" collection was sold for $16,000.

For comparison, in 2008 at the same London auction Phillips de Pury & Co painting "Beetle" Russian artist Ilya Kabakov was sold for $6 million.

The global art market is increasingly interested in Ukrainian artists. Their paintings are not yet included in the list of the most expensive, but the potential is great, experts say. We invite you to get acquainted with the most expensive works of contemporary Ukrainian artists.

Artist: Anatoly Krivolap
Picture: “Horse. Evening"
Cost: $186,200

The work of the Ukrainian artist in 2013 went under the hammer of the Phillips auction. Starting price for the canvas “Horse. The evening “was 76 thousand dollars. According to the results of the auction, it became the second most expensive among those sold, after the work of the American Keith Haring. The canvases of Anatoly Krivolap are recognizable due to their monochrome and bright colors. “Having developed a keen sense of color over the years, the artist became famous for his latest nostalgic thoughts on the Breadbasket of Europe,” says the Phillips auction catalogue. The canvas was painted in the village of Zasupoevka. According to the artist, it was especially difficult to choose shades. Although when Crookedpaw said that he had mastered over 50 shades of red, this challenge was special. The horse had to not stand out too much from the background and at the same time not merge with it. For sale at auction, the painting was in private collection in Europe, and also exhibited at the Mystetsky Arsenal in 2012. The painting is part of an open series of works launched in 2005. It has 14 more paintings.

Artist: Vasily Tsagolov
Picture: “Who is Hurst afraid of”
Cost: $100,000

Vasily Tsagolov is a Kiev artist, well known abroad. He actively responds to many trends in society and art. He did not ignore Hurst, as one of the most famous, commercially successful artists peace. The main theme of Hirst's work is death, an application for its philosophical and religious understanding. Tsagolov subtly, ironically plays up this moment in the film “Who is Hurst Afraid of”. In 2009, the PinchukArtCentre hosted an exhibition by Damien Hirst. Simultaneously with it, Vasily Tsagolov in the Kyiv gallery "Collection" exhibited this painting of his. On the canvas, a cowboy with pistols in both hands, goes forward, shooting right and left, leaving behind graveyard crosses. The image of a gangster that occupies the entire space of the picture, painted from a lower angle, dominates the viewer so much that it is perceived as an allegory of commercial art, imposing its tastes, way of thinking and lifestyle on us. The work was acquired by a Ukrainian collector.

Artist Alexander Roitburd
Painting: “Farewell, Caravaggio”
Cost: $97,179

Odessa Alexander Roitburd is one of the founders of Ukrainian postmodernism. His work is exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Goodbye Caravaggio was sold in 2009. The painting was painted under the impression of being kidnapped from the Odessa Museum of Western and oriental art famous painting by Caravaggio "The Kiss of Judas, or the Taking of Christ into custody." The canvas was the beginning of a series of monumental works “Roitburd vs Caravaggio”. The exhibition of the same name was held in April-May 2010 in the Kyiv gallery "Collection". According to the artist, such a game with the masterpieces of the classics helps to reveal a new meaning in them.

Artist Ilya Chichkan
Painting: “It”
Cost: $79,500

Representative new wave in Ukrainian art, Ilya Chichkan is known all over the world. His most recognizable works are associated with the representation of famous people in the form of monkeys. In the summer of 2008, Ilya Chichkan's painting “It” was sold in London. The sale took place at Phillips de Pury, the third most important auction house after Christie's and Sotheby's. It was a secondary sale: the painting was put up for auction by a collector, not by the artist himself. “I didn’t get any of this,” Chichkan said. Actually got a reputation. If a painting is exhibited by a collector and it is sold, then its author has commercial potential.

Artist Oleg Tistol
Picture: “Coloring”
Cost: $53,900

The work of the artist Oleg Tistol is classified as neo-baroque. His painting "Coloring" went under the hammer at Phillips in 2012. The buyer wished to remain anonymous. The picture was created at the Ukrainian Fashion Week event. During the defile of fashion designer Anastasia Ivanova, the guests drew on canvas with colored markers.

At an auction in London, the master's painting was sold for 124 thousand 400 dollars, which was a record among Ukrainian artists

For fifteen years Anatoly Kryvolap has been looking for "his" color in order to become one of the most successful Ukrainian artists in the early nineties, and the most expensive in the early 2000s. The painting by Anatoly Dmitrievich overcame another price limit a month ago - the work “Horse. Night" was sold at auction in London for 124 thousand 400 dollars. And in the spring of this year, his creation went under the hammer in New York for 98 thousand dollars. However, money matters do not really bother the Ukrainian artist. Many years ago he left Kyiv, settled in a village near Yagotin and reluctantly leaves his beloved workshop. He does not wear expensive watches, he is indifferent to jewelry, food and everyday life. He says that because of life in the village he has recovered a little, but he will not exchange it for anything. Although, given his abilities, he could have done it at one moment.

"I found over 50 red shades"

- Have you been told that the color of your eyes is exactly like the sky on the canvases that you create?

- Never. Although, I remember, the girls confessed that when I look at the sky, my eyes turn blue. In fact, they are gray-blue. But my milk brother's eyes are dark blue, burning. Amazing shade.

- But your favorite color is probably still red.

— For many years I painted only in this color. I was recognized thanks to the red. Found more than fifty variations of this shade! The red color is very strong. It can be festive and tragic. The whole emotional palette in this one color. I was always worried about how you can convey what you are experiencing with the help of shades. The palette is just a set of shades behind which there are real feelings or their absence.

Has it always been like this in your life?

- As long as I can remember. Since childhood, I had the feeling that everything in life would turn out somehow special. My parents had nothing to do with art, they were orphans. Dad has only two classes of education, mom didn’t go to school at all. But it was she who emotionally supported me, believed me. She told me when I was little, I painted anywhere and with what I had to. I could take a piece of coal, lean against the white wall of our house, and suddenly a horse appeared there. I learned to draw myself. There was no one to show how to do it right. I remember that in the library in Yagotino I found some faded book with drawing lessons from a pre-war edition. It became my first art book.

- So, at a time when the boys dreamed of becoming pilots and astronauts ...

- The period of childhood, when I had not painted yet, was probably the happiest in my life. Then came creative fanaticism, which crossed out almost everything from it. I could no longer be interested in anything but painting. Dad worked as a machinist railway and wanted me to follow in his footsteps. He said: “You need to have a specialty. And painting is so pampering. There were three brothers in our family, I am the youngest. He always joked, two brothers are smart, and the third is an artist. My profession in the family was not accepted for a long time, they didn’t even go to exhibitions. But I didn't care - I couldn't imagine any other life. My childhood was post-war years. We didn't have a TV at home, so we were often left without electricity. In winter, after four in the evening it was already getting dark, there was nothing to do. I started drawing first out of boredom, and then moved from real world into the one that understood best - the world of colors. Since I began to draw, I can not see the real life.

*The painting, against which Anatoly Krivolap stands, is made in yellow-red-blue tones. How many shades on the canvas, it is unrealistic to count - a real storm of colors. It is impossible to take your eyes off abstraction; in small lonely details everyone finds something of their own, hidden in the very depths of the soul. PHOTO: Sergey DATSENKO, "FACTS"

- You don't see people?

- I do not see. I either feel them or I don't. Everything that I encounter every day, I encrypt in color palette.

And what color am I?

- I would take some green, draw a red line and one more color, which is hidden from me for now. I would make it gray, so that later I can repaint it depending on the situation. I almost never use it at work. green color. He is too calm for me. Doesn't reflect my energy, so it's unnerving.

What can we say about white then?

- But on the contrary! I have almost no furniture at home, and the walls are white. Even in my youth I decided that the best dwelling for me is a monk's cell. White walls, minimalism. White color is universal. Looking at it, I can see color programs. This is its value. White is for everyday life, green is for relaxation. Everything else is for work.

“It is a dark night in the city, but in the village it is ... bright”

- What color are you?

- Red with a raspberry tint. Like your sweatshirt. Even brighter.

- Your two latest paintings, sold for a lot of money from world auctions, purple dark shades.

“That's what worries me now. I work in large batches. If I start to write in some color, then I go deep into it, as in “ gold mine". It so happened that the painting “Night. Horse "blue-violet. What shade will be tomorrow, I do not know. Color is whole life. First you need to get used to it, recognize the weak, strengths. Then pull it all out. And… let go. Everything is like in life. I haven't always been famous.

Do you remember that time?

- Graduated from Kyiv art institute and I was invited to work. It was a fund where artists worked, many folk and honored. They paid good money there. I painted a picture a month and received two thousand rubles for it! At that time, the salary of an engineer was only 150 rubles. Still life I was born in two days and cost 500 rubles. Colossal money! But all the artists in the fund depended on officials who came to us in luxurious "Seagulls" and decided whether to accept work or not. These views were the most feared. I have already begun my experiments with color, which simply annoyed many. I had to either obey or leave for “free bread”. I chose the second. For 15 years he conducted his experiments, having practically no money. Didn't starve to death thanks to the Polish collector Richard Vrublevsky. He came to Kyiv once a month and bought my works. Today he has 92 of them. He lived more or less decently until the early nineties. And in 1992 I was invited to an exhibition in Germany. My first work was sold for 12 thousand marks! At that time, a family in Ukraine could live for a month on $10. I became rich.

- And they settled in the very center of Kyiv.

- Moved to Kyiv after the eighth grade, when he studied at art school. Then he went into the army, entered the institute, began to earn money. And in the 90s I bought an apartment in the very center. From its windows one could see the monument to Lysenko near Opera House. I was recognized, began to buy work. By the way, I was one of the first artists in Kyiv who raised the price for their paintings to a thousand dollars. At that time in Ukraine, collectors bought paintings for 200, 300 dollars. Galleries began to refuse to exhibit my work, but I also sold well abroad.

- What is the story when you burned your paintings?

- It was two years ago. In two days I burned about two thousand of my sketches. All of them are written on cardboard. You can’t even call them paintings, many remained unfinished. I specially drew on cardboard, knowing that no one would buy such works - the galleries did not accept them, they were not interested in collectors. Only my Pole bought. But I had to train, grow. Now that I have become noticeable, I want only the best things to remain after me. Why sell the stages of your formation, such half Crooked Paw? Then I decided to burn everything. He fired for two days, kindling a fire in his own area. And my grandson brought me work in a wheelbarrow. Only a small part of those paintings remained. But there will be time, I will burn them too.

- No wonder you are compared with the great Gogol ... Do you have a favorite picture?

- There are two of them. My house, which I wrote in 1990. This is an iconic landscape. Having created it, I realized that I would not raise the bar of creativity any higher. I will never be able to surpass the level of that work. The painting was sold in Germany for 50,000 marks. But, probably, the most expensive for me is my first abstraction of blue color. I have it at home, I will never sell it.

- So, the white walls of your house are still hung with paintings?

No, they are clean. I have canvases. And not only mine. Since his student days, he has been collecting. I have the work of the famous Nikolai Glushchenko. It's such a drink.

You can afford to live in any city in the world. Nevertheless, they left Kyiv and moved to a village several tens of kilometers from the capital.

There are places where you want to work. And there are those in which you begin to hate yourself. I love Kyiv, but I stopped working there. And in the village I create! I have fantastic place. The garden descends directly to the lake, which is two and a half kilometers wide. The view is breathtaking. After all, it is a dark night in the city, but in the village it is ... bright. You should have seen this picture! I write mostly in the evening.

“It’s as if a woman’s soul has been thrown into my male body”

Is there anything in life that interests you as much as painting?

“Nothing, absolutely.

- And the women?

- I think they are in fourth place for me. My family knows this very well. I am a fanatic. An uncomfortable person. I can experiment with color for twenty hours without a break. No weekends or holidays. I won't even cook for myself if I'm hungry. The maximum he can do is buy or order food. Everything else is a waste of time. I have never had a hobby in my life. Rather, a hobby is a job. True, now we need to take a short break. Health problems began, pressure jumps. Probably due to the fact that he began to work with enamel. Imagine being indoors all day, where one hundred open cans with paint. Plus turpentine.

Are you allergic to this?! You happy man!

- No allergies, but the pressure jumps. The doctors looked at me and asked: “Do you work at a chemical plant?” I say: "Moreover, voluntarily." I'm addicted to work. This is my happiness and unhappiness. All my life, as if on a swing - sometimes at a height, sometimes in a failure. But this is exactly what is so interesting.

- They say, for your work “Horse. Night” at an auction in London, a real struggle broke out among collectors.

- I am not interested. I have not been to any auction, even in Ukraine. I rarely go to exhibitions. Not interested. Everything important to me happens in the studio. What else do I need to know?

— For example, the fact that you are called the most expensive Ukrainian artist.

- So what?! I'm not a businessman. Money doesn't interest me. Since 1992, I have everything I want. And my needs are small. There is a saying: the rich is not the one who has a lot of money, but the one who does not need much ...

- But, you see, money can bring a lot of pleasant moments. For example, buying things, cars ...

- I have two cars. I mostly drive a Jeep. I love sports cars, but they are not for our roads. One of my first cars was very noticeable in Kyiv - a red Volvo. She was then the only one in town. The next two cars were also red. Here's the last one in grey. I found an image of my life - gray-white. Only paints in my paintings can be colored. I neutralized everything else in life ... You know, in my youth I rode a motorcycle, wore a long haircut and tried to hide that I was an artist.

- Why?!

- This is some kind of non-male specialty. We are like perverts. Is it normal that I am more sensitive than a woman? In my male body as if thrown female soul. Honestly, I have not met a woman who would feel the world more strongly than I do. But you women are "receivers". Only you can truly appreciate the art, not the man who is next to you. Whoever he is...