Olexander Klimenko | Paul the Apostle

OLEXANDER KLIMENKO
Paul the Apostle, 2022
Tempera on wood from AKM cartridge box | 40 x 35cm | 16 x 14 in

The icon of Paul the Apostle is paired with the icon of Peter the Apostle. Paul was one of the more intelligent apostles, having an excellent rabbinical education (one of the best, if not the best at the time). This icon is a portrait of a modern intellectual, thoughtful and slightly detached from us. A look thrown not at the viewer but past him emphasizes deep thoughtfulness and introspection. This is a kind of ideal of wisdom, which, perhaps, he himself aspires to and offers to others.

© Olexander Klimenko

Icons on Ammunition Boxes 
From 2015, Ukrainian artists Sonia Atlantova and Olexander Klimenko have been using wooden fragments from ammunition boxes abandoned by Russian soldiers on the battle fields in Ukraine to paint icons and donating all sale proceeds to mobile hospitals that provide urgent medical care to wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in late February, 2022, their work remains more relevant than ever.