Alexandre Sacha Putov

Alexandre Sacha Putov is an expressionist painter affiliated with the Art Cloche (homeless art) movement. He was born November 9, 1940 in Kamensk, Russia. He died in France on November 18, 2008. After graduating university with a degree in architecture, he dedicated himself to painting, sculpture, and engraving. His work was first exhibited in Moscow in 1973. Thereafter, he immigrated to Haifa in Israel where he became a nationalized citizen.

Starting in 1986, Alexandre Sacha Putov pursued his artistic career in France where he became affiliated with the Art Cloche movement. His work consisted of expressionist compositions done in an ochre palette, deconstructed cityscapes, and mother/child tableaux tenderly executed in acidic colors in the style of and inspired by the traditional Russian iconography so venerated throughout Russia.

His uniquely passionate stroke, and his prolific output make him a significant force in the expressionist movement, securing his place in the pantheon of Contemporary Art. His vivid style characterized by a mastery of line, and a distinctively bold and imaginative use of color, evokes a viscerally emotional response. Putov painted in oil on a variety of surfaces. Frequently, he fabricated his own canvasses, piece by piece, in drapery/carpet/fabric--and at times, the frames as well.

Many of his canvasses clearly affirm his attachment to the "Art Cloche" (short for "clochard" or homeless person) movement. Yet, at the same time, their innate classicism sets the artist somewhat apart, as evidenced by the expressionist esthetic he brings to his portraits of those in his homeless circle. He travelled throughout France painting its villages and rural landscapes in a testament to his time and experience, creating a veritable pictorial diary.

Alexandre Sacha Putov distinguished himself also in the field of engravings, where his flair for gestural illustration served him well. A gifted illustrator, he composed many beautiful oil on paper works. Exhibited in numerous European countries (France, Spain, Germany) and in North America (USA, Canada), and especially in his adopted Israel, his works have attracted both amateur and very sophisticated collectors.
The Russian nickname Sacha (short for Alexandre as he is also known) has been somewhat confusing to certain collectors who thought perhaps there were two different painters. In fact, it is one and the same person.