Lot 305: Alexander Sitnikov , Russian b.1945 Feast of Beasts, 1987 oil on burlap

signed and inscirbed in Cyrillic and dated 1987 (on the reverse); also indistinctly stamped (on the reverse) oil on burlap

measurements 45 by 45 in. alternate measurements 114 by 114 cm

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

PROPERTY FROM THE ZIGZAG CORPORATE COLLECTION
Although Alexander Sitnikov's work seems remote from everyday concerns, he feels that an artist can only generalize from his/her own experience. He qualifies his position by saying that an artist should remain independent of events of the moment and, for integrity's sake, must always stand in opposition to any power. He also says that the artist should become a messenger for a larger idea--"a grand historical or universal humanistic idea." Sitnikov's paintings reflect the Russian icon tradition, Egyptian art, and Surrealism, and often include allegorical motifs of birds, numbers, and animals, especially bulls.