User:Наста Свікрос/Aliaksandr Tsyrkunov

Aliaksadr Tsyrkunov, known as Ales 'Tsyrkunoŭ (Ljasan' District of Žlobin, March 28th, 1948), is a Belarusian artist and painter.

Biography
He was born on March 28th, 1948 in a large family of farmers in the village of Ljasan, Žlobin district, Gomel region, Belarus. He grew up in different orphanages: in the Dzjamjanki village, Dobruš district; Pirevičy village, Žlobin district; city ​​Vetka. He approached art thanks to Sjargej Garobčanka and Hvëdar Škliaraŭ.

From 1964 to 1967 he studied and worked in the Petro-Donetsk mine in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. During the same period, he shaped his artistic training by attending a correspondence course at the Popular University of Fine Arts "Krupskaja" in Moscow. From 1967 to 1969 he served in the military.

His first professional approach was at Anatol 'Baranoŭski's studio. From 1970 to 1976 he studied at the Belarusian State Institute of Figurative and Theater Arts (currently the Belarusian State Academy of Fine Arts) where among his teachers were the artists Haim Liŭšyca, Barys Arakčeev, Maja Dancyg and Pëtr Krohalev. He has participated in exhibitions since 1975. In 1983 he joined the Union of Belarusian artists, was a member of the "Niamiga" association, and has been part of the "Pagonja" association since its foundation.

From 1979 to 1982 he taught drawing and painting at the architecture department of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute and from 1983 to 1984 he was a drawing and painting teacher at the artistic high school № 75 in Minsk.

Married. He has two daughters.

His works
Works in the field of oil painting mainly in portrait, thematic-historical painting, landscape and material genres. His most significant works are: "Grandmother's Heritage" (1975), "The Khmelnytsky's Theodore" (1976), "Guslar" (1980), "The White Melody" (1982), "Dudary" (1983) ), “Baptism of the Litvins” (1987), “Barvy Shield. Dedication to Uladzimir Karatkevich ”(1990),“ In Memory of Yazep Drazdovich ”(1990),“ Sign of Trouble. Dedication to Vasily Bykov ”(1991),“ Call ”(1991),“ Partridges, Ghost ”, (1992),“ Progress ”(1992),“ Spreading the Darkness. Dedication to Mikola Ermalovich ”(1993),“ Neither the End nor the Beginning ”(1995),“ The Shroud of the National Idea ”(2000),“ Yanka Kupala. " (2012), “Mystery Square in Postavy” (2014); triptych: "At Dawn" (1978), "Leonovich" (1980), "Flame" (1983), "Holiday" (1988), "Heroes of Monte Cassino" (2015).

His earlier works had a tendency to develop a rigorous style. Now Ales Tsyrkunov works in a symbolic-realistic style, which shows the clear aesthetics of formal painting with characteristic colour dynamics.

The artist pays much attention to portrait work. This work is characterized by a harmony of combinations of spiritual and characteristic-typological features of the nature of outstanding Belarusian figures, which most deeply touch the minds of the onlooker. The created images are devoid of a literary plot, perceived on the level of sincere and light personal emotion as well as intuitive spirit of their creative genius.

Many of the compositions are dedicated to both the present reality and the history of Belarus. The topics of the Second World War and the Chernobyl tragedy are touched upon.

A number of solo and group art exhibitions have been held both in Belarus and abroad: Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine and others.

His works can be found in the collections of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the Museum of Modern Fine Art, the National History Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War, the Mogilev Regional Art Museum named after Pavel Maslennikov, the Grodno State Historical Archaeological Museum, Polotsk Museum of Local Lore, Vetka Museum of Folk Art, Zhlobin Museum of History and Local Lore, Postavy Region Museum of Local Lore, in private collections of Belarus, Russia, Italy, Poland, Ukraine and others.

Since 1998, besides painting, he has been engaged in sculpture, and since 2000 he has installed a number of monumental and memorial signs dedicated to memorable historical events and distinguished persons of Belarus. For example: Jubilee Cross for All Saints of Belarus in front of the Czech village of Myadel district (2000); tombstone of Vande Romar near the village of Konyabichi, Pastavy District (2001); a monument to Florian Danowski, a member of the insurgence of 1863-1864 with a marble bust near the village of Konyabichi (2002); Chapel of Honor in memory of the fallen rebel fighters for the Fatherland in 1794, 1831, 1863 near the village of Strache Ostrovets district (2004); Gate Chapel at the Christian Cemetery near Raduta village, District of Pastavy (2005); Memorial to a soldier-compatriot who died in 1920 in the town of Lyntupy (2008); Commemorative Cross of the Priest Vincent Godlevsky in Trostyanets Tract, later reinstalled near St. Roch Church in Minsk (2009); Memorial cross to Vaclav Lastovsky with his image in the Kurapaty tract (2016); Monument to Nikolai Gusovsky in Tomsk (2017) and others. Some of them were created with the complicity of others.

Awards
He received the Order of Honour of the Fatherland from the Minsk Heritage Club (1993) and the Czech Masaryk Medal from the Czech Embassy in the Republic of Belarus (2005).