Alexander Petrov
b. 1957
A graduate of the renowned art school in Penza that nurtured such artistic luminaries as David Burliuk and Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Petrov continued his education at Stroganov Institute of Art and Design in Moscow, Russia. Very early on in his artistic career, Petrov participated in numerous exhibits on non-official art, including the infamous Bulldozer exhibition in 1974. In 1992, the artist settled in New York, though he currently lives and works in Spain.
Petrov’s works are represented in the collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, as well as in public and private collections worldwide. His richly colored non-objective compositions bring to mind the architectural grace of works by the exponents of Russian Constructivism. Their graphic images, geometric shapes, and bright colors impacted the vision of artists and designers worldwide for generations to come. But, Petrov departs from Constructivist social pathos to create his compositions with rigorous inner structure. Movement-engendering forms made through the artist’s pastels, born inside black contour outlines, produce the effect of a strong figurative element. Allied with daring choice of colors, they exude the air of optimism and fascination with science, technology, and innovation, all characteristic of Russian abstract art.
