O’REILLYS THE DESIGN SALE 26th - 29th October 2022

24 THE DES IGN SALE | Wednesday 26th – Fr iday 28th of October S P O T L I G H T O N A N A R T I S T Alexander Sokolov ( 1 9 5 5 - 2 0 2 2 ) Alexander Sokolov was born on June 29th 1955 in Carlisle, England, to an English mother and Russian father. His parents have a reputable history in their own right, with his mother working as a foreign correspondent and journalist, suppor ting a free Czechoslovakia, and his father was an officer in the Royal Navy during WWII. In 1971 when Alexander was 15 years old, the family left England and put down roots in Castletownend, Co. Cork. He did not spend much time in Ireland; it was only five years before he moved again across Europe and settled in Paris where his training as a professional ar tist began. During his time there, he studied under Miklos Dallos (1922 - 2008), a Hungarian sculptor whose work no doubt had a major impact on Sokolov’s style as it developed, he also lived with his teacher during this period. Dallos taught his pupil the technique of taille directe, or direct carving, a method that stuck with Sokolov throughout his career. This modern approach was introduced to the ar t world by the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876 - 1957) in 1906 while studying in the École des Beaux-Ar ts and derives significantly from the classical, pre-planned modes of sculpting that went before.The technique allows the act of carving to determine the final shape of the work and often produces more rounded figures and shapes, straying away from the highly detailed forms of Greek and Roman influence.