Born in 1985 in Ukraine, Oleksandr Balbyshev is a graduate of The Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture. In 2015, the Ukrainian government banned all symbols and images associated with the USSR. The artist unearths these lost, classical Soviet-era portraits and radically modifies them with a surreal-cum-Pop Art style.
Onto found portraits and sculptures of Lenin, Oleksandr chaotically drips paint, cuts out segments and glues them together again - a collage-like process often carried out with children. The aim: to erase the original propagandistic and ideological meanings of these images. The result: born-again works instilled with a fresh combination of play and seriousness. All of Oleksandr's creations prompt viewers to lift the veil of accepted paradigms, delving into their own understanding and reception of them. The artist receives equal acclaim for his figurative nude paintings. Using bright, climactic colours and raw, gaze-holding subjects, the artist explores male sensuality and sexuality.
You can find Oleksandr's paintings in private collections worldwide: USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Sweden, Finland, South Africa, Thailand, Australia, and Mexico. Oleksandr currently lives and works in Dnipro, Ukraine.
