Mazur as he was.

It was very difficult to communicate with him. It impossible it measure Mazur and his activity with any measures or rules as it was impossible to do it as to the activity of Pikasso, Dali or to others who were like to them. Any measures or rules are applicable only to their followers works. Mazur's activity is not comparable with any directions. Aleksei himself said that he had been grown on the modern, but it seems to me that exactly saying he had grown out of the modern as it was possible to grow out of the baby's shorts.

"Other-wordly" - is the abstract meaning that can precisely describe the Mazur's style as he did not keep to any limits or prohibitions in the world of his imaginations. He could connect perfectly in - compatible things in his works. For instance horses and fish, insects and weapons, of all times simultaneously, reptiles and spaceships…

Everythings that was seemed to impossible for others was entirely natural, normal and organic for Mazur's works.

"It is not so simple" - used to say. And he created absolutely parodoxal cycle about horsemen with not less parodoxal title "Peter's funs". Then followed absolutely shocking cycle "Signs of the Zodiac" and many, many other incredible works, that can lead to distraction. But it is the first impression. At the closer examination of Mazur's hybrids of fauna and technics, horses with sad eyes of beautiful maidens, spiteful dragons and touching fish yu begin to understand, that all they are not a heap of different things. Every one of them is subordinated to his own definite logics, the master's logics, the world of whom is not made too tight with common meanings. They are certainly subordinated to the Genius' logics.

Journey in space of the picture

“Bad news travels fast”, the famous painter Alex Mazur has died. His death was accidental, sudden and ridiculous.

He was diving and examining the depths of sea as usual. He was wearing oxygen mask and flippers, but he didn’t make out the cliff in the water and bumped his head. In a flash it was nothing…. His ardor has brought him an eternal rest.

He has liked the sea and marine inhabitants since early childhood. His favourite subjects at school were: zoology, biology and botany.

He has thought up ingeniously fantastic crabs, fish and octopus. He has contributed with great variety of publications. The artist has painted vignettes, illustrated articles, horoscope, besides he has masterly painted zodiacal signs. Everyonewasastonishedbyhisartist’sskills.

You can wonder through Alex’s paintings for a long time- said gallerist Tatyana Binovskaya. He has brought amazing graphic works that were full of refinement, irony and grotesque to our gallery “White Moon” shortly before his death. He could produce a couple of author’s techniques with help of various tricks. He fiddled with paper, sometimes he has boiled it in oil to make the look of antiquities.

It wasn’t always easy to work with Alex- said the manager of Marine gallery Tatyana Binovskaya. – For example: I remember the exposition “Fish day in Odessa”, that was held at Palace of Sailors ten years ago. The pressmen have already come and he couldn’t have chosen the frames for his graphic works. There was another event: Alex’s personal exposition was held at new building that was situated on the territory of Sea port. The first visitors have already come, but he decided to take off the works and bring them to the film studio in order to take pictures.

We had such moments. They were funny from one side, but not at all from the other. He had a gift for drawing for fair. He was a surrealist, who didn’t imitate Dali . All his fiction harmony and essence were enclosed into himself. His soul has given vent to canvas and paper. He could have created much more works if he didn’t love noisy companies of friends.

Unfortunately he has often sold the paintings and pictures far from their true price.

That strange strange Mazur

He creates genius works and drink vodka. Why? It has to be needed. -“I feel such a huge energy inside, that must be pressed somehow, because it may throw me apart…” In his head are so many thoughts that sometimes he feels it cannot contain them. He does not have time to splash out on a canvas all that sees and notices (sees a lot, but NOTICES not the every detail), and considers seriously, that remaining, not getting on a picture, it must be "muffled".

He was an outstanding boy. Preferred society of adults as more interesting society. He was skipped easily in Institute of Biology of South Seas, where his friends used to work. Friends had graduate degrees, engaged in the study of marine creatures and with kind regards behaved to the schoolboy which helped them in work and brought exhibits.

At home Alesha lived in surroundings living crocodiles, spiders, toads, pottering about in the enormous aquariums and thoughtfully looking on the inhabitants of apartment. Brought animals from swimming of his father, seaman, - rather eccentric person. He instiled son love to literature and music.

After a divorce with a wife an artist settled in a paternal house, where he pays attention exceptionally ... by himself: by his world, paints, canvases, creations. He does not sell and does not propose a picture, it is done by people who are in love with his art.

I am thinking about mother and butterflies

A schoolboy Alex answered the question of the teacher in such way. The question was: “What are you thinking about?” He has been learning at school №9бnowadays it is gymnasium2. It was during Soviet times and children were trained to military games such as:”Zarnitsa”- flash on the right, flash on the left. But Alex was too active and movable boy and it was decided to let him protect the banner instead of using his qualities. It was a terrible scandal when it was found out that he had left his post and rushed after the butterfly. It is interesting, but Alex wasn’t interested in the company of the same age, he liked spending his time with elder people, because they had known and seen a lot of things! Alex was born on the 29th of April 1992 in Odessa. It was the first day o Easter. People say that it is a good sign for happy life, but he didn’t have a simple destiny. Alex has always been rushed along, twisted and reached a deadlock. His father has died in two months before Alex’ death and the picture has fallen from the wall at his parents’ place in two weeks before this grievous event. In that picture was painted a dove that was beating against the sidelight’s glass of the captain’s cabin. It was a bad sign and as people say:”misfortunes never come singly”

The best monument –is an album

Except animals and marine inhabitants Alex Mazur has painted ‘’captain’s’’ still life with portholes, pipes and old maps. During one period of time he was carried away by rhinos, then by crocodiles and fossil fish(cycle of Phossilis). He has painted his relatives, himself, but in his self-portraits he looked much older , wiser and careful than he really was.

‘’Alex Mazur had a huge exposition that occupied two floors of the Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and was held by Marine gallery’’- rememberes sculptor Illarion Stadnik. We have met each other during this exposition. I have been walking upstairs and downstairs for a long time and I noted that all works were very matured. This artist has painted over a thousand of works during his life. He was very productive and spreaded his works among strangers, sometimes he lost dozens. He has reached success not due to good sales, but consequently of admiration of his works that were spreaded all over the world by means of stealing and making presents. Alex’s graphic art is a unique phenomenon, it is almost doesn’t bear resemblance to anything.

His works were transported to U.S.A. and England which were conferred on high rating from foreign press. Alex has invented a lot of interesting author’s techniques, the last one he has invented shortly before his decease. Alex didn’t keep anything from anyone. He has lavishly shared his secrets with colleagues and his knowledge as well. His knowledge was encyclopedic.

I guess that the best monument to this artist is publication of the album of his works.

So, I would like to call to people who live in Odessa not to hide his works and allow to take pictures and publish his works. And then we will understand that there was a classic in Ukrainian’s history of graphic art, who was born in Odessa…

He creates genius works and drink vodka. Why? It has to be needed.

Many artists and charts, whose names are associated with Odessa, abandoned a city. V. Khrusch – went to Moscow, L. Dyul'fan - to New York, S. Udovichenko to - to Yaffe, A. Ivashko-to Berlin. The list of their names may reach horizon.

But a city does not exist without painting, without graphic arts. New talents appear. New names are generated. A workshop of S.Lykov gives birth to his works of the true European level. Some creations of K. Skobcov "sound" as the most original graphic arts. Among the newborn variety of artists there is one more talent. I talk about a painter Alex Mazur, whose linens put highly by virtue of many reasons, mostly because of his specific “epic” manner. Appearance, created by Alexey Mazur, attracts a look, and a picture of any size seems enormous. For example, take a look at his “Saint John Bogoslov”, appearance of epic silence on a background of curled clouds. An old man. Large lines of his person. Power. Strong spirit. Folds of clothes, exposed book in a hand and thin feather, covered with writing in high labors,- large and grandiose, that we take away John from an image, in the eyes of him we feel all the weight of sufferings of the world. Alex Mazur does not show by itself personality of religious tendency, but evangelic images appear as spiritual waves which took away him as a "basic stone" of inspiration. "Judas Iskariot" is the linen from that period of his creative activity. Judas is one of apostles, who betrayed Christ on death, for which many painters and writers, artists of the world undertook so. At the beginning of the age the story of Leonid Andreev "Judas Iskariot" compelled to admire. And in 70kh years among returning to appearance of Judas sleep of Bochana went down in memory from "Eternal cities" of Nodar Dumbadze. Dumbadze in his dream meets with Christ and asks him how could Judas betray him. And an answer, phenomenal on the depth, follows:"I’ve spared other apostles".

The right explanation of the creation is the right vision of the way the author dreamed out, just this author. For Mazur Judas is full of pain. His extended hands are seemed to be full of sin in the mute of the question “what?" begging about condescending to nature of man, whose sin is first-born undertook Jesus Christ. Judas, painted by Mazur, is polysyllabic. Judaic cunning was here to succeed, because the look of brilliant eyes is sly. And the most great is the detail, - inclination of person, speaker to us from deaf space, after his back where there is no epic height, pick-a-back of Saint Joann. But also Judas as well as Joann, is epic in his pain, in his doubt, in truth, in faith, and in eternal life. He by himself is the question about the sense of life and its value.

No less value has his picturesque cycle of psevdoanimalistic genre. I am not inclined to determine him as surrealism, although, no doubt, surrealism reasons are looked over sufficiently clear. In a wonderful, curling, already to us the acquainted framing of clouds - giant with large tusks by a trunk head of elephant. But this head passes in overhead "perspective" part in a butterfly, goldish, cooled air of tops.- painted by Mazur in his favorite "sand and sun" outlook. By the rays of a sun the ears of elephant will be transformed into wings... Here You see the idea of unity in Nature - in all the creatures earthly and celestial. As visible, thirst to transform nature, incarnate once in universal of Revival, still visits the racemes of artists on an end of our century. His spatial elefant, wearing all signs of grandeur, epically straight, penetrate created also butter on the canvases of image of rhinoceroses. The famous "Rinocervs" of Durer - is remembered as only a mental analogy.

Rhinoceroses of A. Mazur are creatures of astral order of the world. One of them, which seems to me exceptionally successful and perfect, flies on...wings. - which is known by children and genius, incarnate here in a heavy animal, wonderfully asking. Does a small human creature sit on a rhinoceros.??..

Unreality, unreality of represented, thirst to confirm nothing, yet being not, but asked in reality... After the exterior of the phenomenon and appearance beauty of impossibility the family is hidden. Perfection of unborn yet creature shows up before us, to overmaster, because a spectator believes in reality of this heavy, twirled and fantastic rhinoceros.

He convinces that perfection, with which written, could be created. Alex Mazur have other, more strange and unfinished yet pictures, especially fantastic linens and graphic pictures. Many of his works "had been travelled" outside of Odessa to another exhibitions and salons. I would like to welcome one more complete work, carried out in so varied, to the various manner, which has permanently inherent gift and wholeness.

STANISLAV AYDINYAN