Eurasia

Anatoly Sivkov, Eurasia

Siberian-born artist, Anatoly Sivkov did not originally have his focus set on the arts. He first studied Physics at the Novosibirsk Academy, then he eventually found his way into theater studying stage management in St. Petersburg, and finally in 1991, he began painting. He is now a member of the Artists Union of Russia and has participated in various exhibitions in New York, California, and Paris.

Eurasia is the painting equivalent of a Russian satirical political cartoon. We see three men standing on a globe; the left represents Asia, the right is Europe, and in the middle is a very flustered Russia. Sivkov painted this in response to the 1998 Russian Financial Crisis, which was in part caused by the 1997 Financial Crisis in Asia. The worth of the Ruble dropped so low that investors in Europe began selling all their Russian assets furthering the drop of the Ruble. Russia is left in between the two frantically looking for help. Sivkov leaves the textures rough, and the painting feels unfinished which further adds to the acknowledgment of an uncertain future and the strain between the countries caused by financial difficulties.