Alla Tkachuk

About Alla Tkachuk

Artist Alla Tkachuk explores the notions of human identity and the social dimensions of art. The 20th Century Dictators, 2004-07, is a series of paintings, floor adhesive prints, posters, a wallpaper, textile, 48-sheet billboard and animation. Going beyond the historical or documentary analysis, the series explores images of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Mao Zedong and Stalin in contemporary context. Portraits of Prince Charles, 2001-02, were created 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 in ITV and BSN reports, 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'. National Portrait Gallery (NPG, London), 2002-06. Alla curated her seminar series on modern portraiture ‘The Changing Face of Portraiture’ at the NPG debating how portraiture can escape the shackles of convention with leading artists and critics such as Maggi Hambling and Tim Marlow. The Times (UK) was the series’ Media Partner and wrote: ‘Alla Tkachuk believes that radical new concepts are needed in portraiture today. She would like to encourage 3D digital and installation portraiture, has invited [to the seminars] a cosmetic surgeon to discuss his work ‘as an artist', commissioned a ‘sound portrait’ and offered herself as a living portrait to grace the walls of the NPG’. (The Times, 13.06.06). '5D Instigative Heads', 2004-08, is a pioneering experimental work that transforms the production and consumption of representational art through digital technologies. The ‘Heads’ are 3D scans of facial expressions painted in oil (texture maps) and then digitally merged, moulded and deformed in space and time (3D modelling and animation), integrated with electro-acoustic landscapes and augmented reality, printed in 3D and projected. Social Art Project MASK, 2006-18. Alla believes in the social dimensions of art. Art should empower people and help them to work towards a common goal. It should deal with issues directly rather than simply express them. In 2007, she set up a social art project MASK (Mobile Art School in Kenya) to strengthen creativity of young people in Africa to enable them to effectively solve problems and bring change. Portraits of Opera Portraits, 2003-17, depict the world-renowned opera singers in roles in the Royal Opera productions. Created from life, the work plays with the notion of portraying the characters of the singers while they portray the characters they play on stage. Public and private portrait commissions include portraits of Dame Ninette de Valois for the Royal Ballet, the Vice Chancellor David Dilks for the University of Hull, George Steiner for Queen Mary University of London, the President of the Russian Academy of Science Academician Osipov, Sir John Nott, Lord Bird, and other public personalities. Alla’ s portrait of another ballerina, Dame Darcey Bussell, was also published on the front page of The Times in 1998. Critical acclaim includes the front pages of The Times (UK) and Bild (Germany), as well as recognition in The Guardian, Independent, Jackdaw Art Review, Art Industry, Hello, ITV, BSN, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, Dancing Times, Evening Standard, and other international press and media. Alla exhibited worldwide in the UK, Germany, South Korea and Russia. Her work is included in the public and private art collections such as the Royal College of Music and BBC Public Ownership Collection. Alla is a RSA Fellow and recipient of the Leverhulme Artist-in-Residence Award, the UK Millennium Award, and the Gold Medal of the Lead Awards. She lives and works in London.