Криволап Анатолій

Anatoly Krivolap (also - Anatoliy Kryvolap; born September 11, 1946 in Yagotin, Kyiv region) is an outstanding Ukrainian painter, a recognized master of abstract art, whose works have received international recognition and set records in the art market.

In 1976, Krivolap graduated from the Kyiv Art Institute, studying in the workshop of the famous artist Viktor Puzyrkov. Since 1976, he has been an active participant in all-Ukrainian art exhibitions, and his personal exhibitions were held in Nuremberg (Germany, 1992), Toulouse (France, 1993) and Kyiv (2000-2004, 2006, 2008-2013).

Krivolap is a representative of non-figurative art and sensualism, revealing in his paintings the poetry of simple landscapes and pure feelings. His abstract compositions are characterized by geometric shapes, rich colors, and thick impasto, emphasizing the texture of the paint. He combines the rational with deep, archetypal content, changing the pictorial canons in Ukrainian art.

In 2011, Kryvolap set a new world record for Ukrainian art: his work "Horse. Night" was sold at Phillips de Pury & Co auction in London for $124,400, almost three times exceeding the preliminary estimate of the lot. Earlier that year, his painting "Steppe" was sold for $98,500 at auction in New York, confirming his status as the most expensive Ukrainian artist.

In 2012, Anatoliy Kryvolap was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine, and in 2017 he became a corresponding member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine. His works are kept in the collections of the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Kyiv Picture Gallery, the Khmelnytsky and Zaporizhia Art Museums.

In April 2024, the M17 Contemporary Art Center in Kyiv hosted the exhibition "Pershoobrazi", which brought together the artist's abstract works from the 1990s - early 2000s and icons created in recent years. The exhibition emphasized the evolution of Kryvolap's work and his appeal to spiritual themes.

Anatoliy Kryvolap continues to work actively, inspiring a new generation of artists and confirming his status as one of the most influential and expensive masters of Ukrainian contemporary art.

Sales of paintings by Anatoly Kryvolap at world auctions:

- Phillips - £17'500-122'500

- Sotheby's - £51'650

- Bonhams - 23'750