If we take as an axiom the statement that everything in our life moves in a spiral, it means that in each subsequent round of development we find ourselves above the previous one, and invisibly return to lessons, victories and mistakes. Along the turn, the path seems long, and it is as if we are moving further and further away from the past, as the distance inevitably begins to shrink. Johann Goethe called the spiral “curve of life”, and everything in this spiral: time, the evolution of the essence, people are in constant motion, where repetition is excluded. Always forgetting about this, we organize a hunt for lost moments to find answers to eternal philosophical questions. Marcus Aurelius argues convincingly and convincingly that the fear of perceiving the facts of the constant variability of existence can be overcome only by resorting to common sense, turning to the logic of the dialectical mind.

Oleksandr Antoniuk in the new personal exhibition “Hunting for Autumn” addresses the historical depths of human culture, and at the same time, his creative aspirations are directed to the future. Like modern anachromists, the artist draws inspiration from images of the past, interpreting them in a modern way in the author’s recognizable manner. Reality in the author’s works takes place in a special space-time dimension, where different worlds and characters coexist in parallel.

His paintings clearly trace a return to the basics, where quotations and images of previous centuries are organically woven into the postmodern context. The author focuses on the issues of the modern world, rethought through the past. Hence the artist’s wide range of interests: numerous interpretations, references to Scripture (“Seven Seals”), to the world of the Wild West (“Way to the West”), to Lewis Carroll’s work “Alice in Wonderland” (…?…), Etc. Oleksandr Antoniuk transforms complex plot structures into visual images-formulas that appeal both to specific historical, biblical figures and to imaginary characters.

In the exhibition “Hunting for Autumn” against the background of weightless landscapes, which sometimes dissolve in space, turning into an abstract background, the heroes of different epochs and worlds intersect and coexist organically. They seem to be frozen in time, in ephemeral, associative and metaphysical space. Each of the depicted is immersed in their inner state: their postures and faces are static. Perhaps this is a kind of aesthetic irony of the author on the immutability of human nature.

Oleksandr Antoniuk continues to work in the plane of universal values, the essence of human nature: reflections on good and evil, spiritual and sinful are the central theme of his works. Along with this, the author’s paintings enter into a dialogue with the viewer, revealing themselves to him gradually due to the author’s “hints”. Images are read according to the query, because whatever questions the viewer asks, such answers he receives. The artist himself does not intentionally encode them, on the contrary, he shares his findings and gives clues in the form of symbols, letters, eloquent details that reproduce a specific historical epoch. These things, when combined into a single plan, lose their domestic attachment and tell about the world that exists in parallel with the objective order of things. A mixture of irony and philosophical search as a strong emotional and intellectual cocktail with a tart taste of mystery, tickles the nerves and excites the imagination.

There is an opinion that the past can be seen, but it cannot be touched. However, the spiral of life continues to move incessantly, and who knows, maybe today each of us will be able, touching the past, to hunt for new impressions, to grasp new meanings, or, to begin with, this autumn.

Maria Frolova, curator

Reference:

Oleksandr Antoniuk was born in Kamianets-Podilskyi in 1971. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Prykarpattia of the National University named after  V. Stefanyk. Lives and works in Khmelnytskyi. Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, participant in numerous domestic and foreign exhibitions. His works are in private collections and galleries in Ukraine and abroad.