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Biography

Alexander Tokarev was born in Odessa into a family of well-known artists in 1946.
After studying at the Grekov Odessa School of the Arts (1961-1966), he graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) with degrees in the arts and directing cinema (1972).
His first solo exhibition took place in Moscow in 1974, and in that same year he became a member of the Moscow Artists’ Union.
During the 1970’s he worked in cinema as a scenarist, film director, and art director, wrote song lyrics, and made large-scale mosaics and illustrations. His paintings have been included in exhibitions in Moscow, across Russia and in international venues.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s he worked as the Chief Artist of the Moscow Experimental Musical Theatre. He designed all the printed materials for Mstislav Rostropovich’s Russian projects including major opera productions.
In 1990 Man-Orchestra was his first solo exhibition in Paris.
In 2008-2009 Alexander Tokarev had solo exhibitions in two of Russia’s greatest museums, the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
In 2009 his solo exhibition, Alexander Tokarev. Man-Theatre, was part of the Pierre Cardin Festival of the Arts in Lacoste, France.
In 2009-2011 his works were exhibited in Copenhagen, Calcutta, Mumbai (Bombay) and London.
His most recent shows in Moscow were Night of the Lunatic in the Vinzavod Centre for Contemporary Art (May-June 2011), Parables in the Russian Academy of Arts (February-March 2012) and Rickshaw-Blues in the State Museum of Oriental Art (May-June 2012).
Alexander Tokarev’s works are found in museums and private collections in Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, France, Japan, India, the USA, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and other countries.
The artist is a member of the Russian Academy of Arts. He lives and works in Moscow.