Alexandr Onishenko – 20 Years in Prague

by Constantine Dodge

Many of you know the story of how Alexandr Onishenko arrived here with little more than rolls of canvas, palette, and paint. Finding both an endless fount of inspiration and a receptive audience, both the artist and his art immediately thrived. In a few years, he opened the doors of Galerie Jakubská and Prague proved to be not only a generous patron but also a hub from which he would launch exhibitions of his work throughout Europe and around the world.

Alexandr’s signature technique of the black canvas was developed during his travels in the east. He lovingly combined this unique form of painting with the stylistic accomplishments of his artistic heroes: the French Impressionists. Out of this marriage was born a new and vibrant style, which he rightly dubbed New Impressionism. It can truly be said that, on Alexandr’s canvases, East meets West. What better place for such an artist to plant his roots, than the Heart of Europe?

Twenty years later, we are celebrating these three inseparable elements of Alexandr’s story: an artist, his art, and his city. And for this occasion, we have placed the artist’s latest body of new and exciting work from 2011 alongside a special, retrospective collection from his earliest days in Prague. We invite you to come and see this unprecedented exhibition. It is our hope that this juxtaposition of past and present will, above all, spark in your minds a great excitement and anticipation for what the future has in store for this remarkable artist. To mark this anniversary, let us look to tomorrow and another new beginning for Alexandr Onishenko.

click here to view our collection of new paintings