Zakhar Valiev

Born in 1961, Zakhar Valiev lives and works in his native city of Vladikavkaz. In 1986, he graduated from the Vladikavkaz Art College, and in 1993, from the Art Academy of Latvia.

Back in his student years, Zakhar took in the best features of the Baltic painting school: lack of expressive inhibition, acute sense of the colour splash, a complex, refined, multi-tonal and somewhat cool palette, and softness of brush strokes. His current artistic practice veers toward Expressionism intoned by a grotesque sensibility, occasional slight irony, philosophical musings, and a sprinkling of veiled humour. Art critics attribute the uniqueness of Valiev’s paintings to the combination of a sophisticated colour scheme and the intricate and unexpectedly charged imagery.