Alexander Antanenka Biography

Alex started drawing in pencil at the age of 5. He attended art school in Brest and in grade school decided that painting would be his life. He went on to attend the Art Academy in Leningrad, (Saint Petersburg), Russia where he graduated at the top of his class in 1978.

Alex was living a happy and content life with his wife and young daughter in the Soviet city of Minsk as a professional artist when the Chernobyl disaster claimed both his parents’ lives, who lived only twenty miles from the accident site. He experienced deep anger toward the Soviet government because of its attempt to cover up the Chernobyl disaster and its terrible effects of not evacuating immediately those who lived in the fallout zones. Very soon after this tragedy, he relocated to the Siberian city of Magadan to start a new life.

Magadan was used as a place of exile by the Soviet government for various artists, poets, and politicians whose works and ideas were not of Soviet exactness. It was here, where Alex’s work changed to reflect his emotional state of anger and sadness. His previous works of bright, vibrant landscapes changed to dark, and dramatic. While in Magadan the Japanese showed a great interest in his art, but the KGB forbad Alex to conduct an exhibition in that country.

Not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Alex moved with his family back to the city of Minsk, Belarus. From here he was able to conduct exhibits of his work in many former Soviet cities, including Magadan in 1990, Vladivostok in 1992, Khabarovsk in 1993, Minsk and Brest in 1996, Moscow at the Kremlin in 1997, and Saint Petersburg in 1998.

Now living in the United States, Alex is happy and at peace. As a result his works once again reflect the bright and vibrant colors that bring his works to life.

His paintings are held in many private collections throughout the world including the countries of Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia and the USA.