Alexei Malikh created a sun. A small white, rather misty sun. And ever since then this sun has found a place for itself on his canvases. He draws the sun and then everything else: the whole of life itself going on below the sun. A line of events in life depicted as well as the atmosphere created make each painting unique. But the image of the sun remains an ever-present trademark. Everything else in the paintings reflects the painter's moods. Moods are not material and that is why anyone studying a Malikh painting is bound to see reflected in it something of his or her own emotional state. Still that sun remains a uniting feature for both the artist and the viewer. Alexei became an artist as a result of some complex forces within his family. He grew up in a family of 'military men', but both his older sisters 'deserted'for a career in the arts. The younger one became a musician and the eldest an artist. When Alexei turned 16 his father, a teacher in a military college, suggested Alexei enrol there and Alexei shrugged his shoulders and said: "Alright" Alexei's sisters were appalled and literally kidnapped him away from the fate in store for him. His oldest sister arrived post-haste from Moscow, fora 10 day stay, with the express purpose of teaching her brother to draw. The first thing she taught Alexei was how to sketch a jug.

This artist's life is full of strange twists. He was born in Berlin and many years later it was a German, a pharmacological scientist who suddenly fell in love with Malikh's works and voluntarily took upon himself the job of being his agent in Germany. For eight years now Malikh has been living between Kyiv and Germany. He does not have so many friends over there and he can get a great deal done without being disturbed.

There is another peculiar episode in Malikh's life, which is connected with Germany. One day, an elderly German lady saw one of Malikh's paintings and announced that she just had to have it. However, instead of money, the lady offered her car, an Audi 80, in exchange for the work. A rather puzzled professor of pharmacology telephoned Malikh to explain the situation. "This car isn't very new, you know," he said. "Well neither is that particular painting," was Malikh's reply. And so the deal was done and Malikh travelled to Germany to pick up his motorisedfee and after several adventures he returned to Kyiv with the car in which he now transports his paintings from one exhibition to another.

Exhibitions of Alexei Malikh's works are frequent and the most recent was at the original 'Tadzio' gallery on Andriyivski Uzviz. Look out for his next one!

Andrei Kourkov