Lot 140: ALEXANDER SITNIKOV

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION

RUSSIAN, B.1945
SHOSTAKOVICH

measurements
56 by 67 3/4 in.

alternate measurements
142 by 172 cm

signed and inscribed in Cyrillic and dated 85 (on the reverse)

oil on canvas

NOTE

Alexander Sitnikov's work as a visual artist reflects his deep musical
inspiration. Although his medium is oil on canvas, in works such as
"Concerto" (1998) and "Schnittke" (2000), Sitnikov's color is sound.
Especially inspired by the controversial Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich, Sitnikov has devoted several paintings and exhibits to the composer, including his 1984 exhibit in Duisburg Germany, "Shostakovich and his Time" and the 1996 exhibit at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, "In Memory of Shostakovich."

In the present painting, 'Shostakovich" (1985), Sitnikov's painting
style parallels Shostakovich's music. Slashes of color and soaring
streams of light suggest a nearness to the cosmos. Shostakovich, and the viewer, reach away from the mortal ugliness that cowers below the music. Sitnikov uses color in its most pure form, offering a sense of the absolute truth put forth by Shostakovich's music. Sitnikov's trademark geometrical rigidity gives way to swirling chaos, a paradox seen often in Shostakovich's sound, specifically in
Piano Trio No. 2. The stiffness of Sitnikov's shapes explodes with an
unusual fluidity analogous to the restrained robotic gravity in Trio
No. 2, which eventually leads to a panicked sense of chaos.

Perhaps Sitnikov felt a comraderie with Shostakovich that reached
beyond their interest in art. Shostakovich's own artistic life is
blanketed in controversy and academic dispute. To some scholars,
Shostakovich was a mediocre composer who created music that would satisfy the Party. To others, Shostakovich was a brave dissident, his music a code full of anti-Party messages and truth. Sitnikov paints this second Shostakovich--a Shostakovich who creates music as a means towards truth--a Shostakovich that is a medium to the sublime.