Andrei Kovaltchuk's going down in Art as a painter may be regarded as successful. He became appreciable in art life quite early. His works were constantly acknowledged. In 1985-1987 he received several prizes of the Ministry of Culture and the Union of Artists for a number of sculptures. In 1988 he was rewarded with the First Prize at the All Union Competition for the monument "To the Victims of Chernobyl" and the Second Prize for the monument "The Decembrists" set up tn the city of Tchita.
  Due to the favourable surroundings since his childhood and his remarkable capacity for work caused by deep passion for his profession, Kovaltchuk was quickly recognized.
  A.N. Kovaltchuk was born in Moscow on September 7th, 1959. The activity of his father Nikolai Kovaltchuk - a famous architect and a teacher - undoubtedly promoted his son's joining the art. His pull towards Fine Arts was gratified during his study at the Junior Art school and then at Moscow Higher Art-Industrial school (former Stroganov School) at the Decorative Plastics Faculty run by professor G.A.Schultz. That's why after his graduation from Stroganov Higher school his creative work was mainly concentrated on sculptures in which the artist promptly revealed himself He succeeded both in monumental and easel sculptures. His orientation towards tradition and classical forms of realizing a conception was always accompanied by their creative transformation that revealed the way towards a number of surprising new decisions, that are equally valuable in the creative work of any artist. And this peculiarity emphasized the individuality of Kovaltchuk and helped him to overcome timidity in the face of any important work.
  His first monumental composition - the memorial "To the Victims of Chernobyl", erected at Moscow Mitinskoye cemetery in 1993, drew people's attention by its non-traditional performance. A hill covered with grass serves as a pedestal and as if personifies the surface of the Globe. A brought ahead figure of a man with outstretched hands in the form of a cross holds back the approaching nuclear cloud. The man is perishing from radiation and here one can see not only the tragedy of the century but also the theme of sacrifice that is typical for the Christian ethics. Everything in this composition has its own, metaphorical sense - the most significant language of art. The allegory is contained in the porous structure of the bronze surface imitating human body exposed to radiation. The erection of the sculpture in the background of architectural oval proved to be very spectacular. The figure of a man becomes a compositional center that draws our attention by the expressive pose full of inner strain. This similar to a spring tension intensifies the tragic situation.
  A monumental sculpture usually requires expressiveness from all the view sides. Kovaltchuk keeps in mind this immutable rule further in his works. That is why he brings forward the man's figure struck by the atomic explosion. His dramatic pose is freely viewed from all sides. The silhouette of the sculpture has the sense that is beyond time. The symbol of a mankind perishing from the explosion but not just a specific man is portrayed in this sculptural composition. Due to this impression the humanitarian meaning of the monument is increasing.

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