ROYAL OPERA PORTRAITS
1997-18
Between 1997 and 2018, Alla painted 'opera portraits' of world-renowned opera singers images of them in stage characters at the Royal Opera House:
Testimonials of the sitters:
Sir Bryn Terfel: “The portrait looks fabulous. I love it. And it is exactly what I did on the stage. Thanks for that.”
Sir John Tomlinson: “Alla captured so vividly and with such insight the characters I played on stage reaching into the very soul of these creations.”
Sir Thomas Allen: "Thank you, Alla, so much for your portrait of me as Don Alfonso. I look like one of those awful men referred to as a lounge lizard. You captured him well. Brava."
Exhibited at: the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Opera House Shop, and the Russian Culture House in London.
PRINCE CHARLES PORTRAIT SERIES
2000-02
The portrait series of King Charles III (former Prince Charles) was created in 2001-02 following a sitting at Highgrove. The portraits including the 'Black Prince' and 'Prince of Cool' featured on the front pages of The Times (UK) and Bild (Germany), as well as ITV, BSN, Der Spiegel, Hello, Jackdaw Art Review, and other press and media. ‘Black Prince’ became a cover of the literary magazine Der Freund (Germany) and won the Lead Award's Gold Medal ‘The Best Magazine Cover of 2005'.
The work was exhibited at Ebury Galleries ( John Adams Fine Art) in London's Belgravia in 2002.
THENTIETH CENTURY DICTATORS
2002-2009
This series of paintings, floor adhesive prints, posters, wallpaper & textile design, a large billboard, 'merchandise' items (such as a mug and cushions), and an animation -explores explores historical figures of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Mao, and Stalin in contemporary context.
The series was exhibited at Crone Gallery in Berlin in 2007. Alla was named the 'Critic's Choice' by Saatchi Art in November 2007.
Animation 'Christ is Not an Aryan' was screened on Europe’s largest digital screen on top of the Axel Springer building and was dabbed as “one of three things to see in Berlin” by Bild (Germany) and BZ Magazine (Germany).
'Siamese Twins' painting featured as ‘The Image of the Week' in The Times' Art Review.
The life-size portraits featured in the literary magazine Der Freund (Germany) in December 2005.
Other images also featured in Berliner Morgenpost, Sleek magazine, and Die Welt.
The series is composed of these nine art groups:
That are intended to be exhibited as the following environs:
Environ 1.
Naked Hitler, Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Stalin, and Franco
Environ 2.
‘Heads’ and 'Dictators TM’
Environ 4.
'Limb composites'
Environ 5.
'Group Portrait' wallpaper, and animation ‘Jesus is Not an Aryan’.
Environ 6.
Double portraits
Environ 7.
Memorabilia
INSTIGATIVE 5D HEADS
2004-08
Alla explored the transformation of production and consumption of contemporary portraiture through 3D digital technologies.
Scanning heads of life models using 3D medical scans ('texture maps'), Alla painted those 'maps' in oil, merged them into 3D digital portraits using software, and then further moulded them in space and time. The works were exhibited as 3D-printed models and projections accompanied by 'electro-acoustic landscapes'.
In 2007, the 'Heads' were shown at the Shunt, London, using motion-sensing technology so visitors could interact with them.
In 2006, the 'Heads featured in Alla's 'The Changing Face of Portraiture’ seminars at the NPG where the technique was shared with other artists and students. In 2010, the work was shown at the Balaklava Odyssey Media Art Festival in the Crimea.
Works:
Breaking with the conventional 2D representation in art, the ‘Heads’ demonstrate:
Techniques explored:
Further explorations include:
Exhibited at:
Exhibition equipment requires short-throw projection, screen, computer, infrared lamp and camera, web camera, sound system, and augmented reality equipment.
©Alla Tkachuk, 2024. All right reserved. No image or text may be reproduced without the artist’s written consent.