Alexander Prokopenko dreamed of being a sculptor as a boy in the early 1960's where he lived in the Ural Mountain Region of Russia. While his single mother worked as a trolley car driver, he occupied his time with clay and sculpted the characters he saw on television so he could rewrite their stories and render them in a three dimensional tableau. His first maquette was considered a failure. His Fyodor Dostoevsky was rejected by the Soviet authorities because this giant of a hero did not have square shoulders. By contrast, his first success was learning that the truest depiction is not in the detail, but in the essence. Thus was born the "Saxophone Player", a 15" jazz musician who's essence was captured as demonstrable grace and energy. Building on that, Alexander completed and captured the essence of 18 other musicians. Living musicians of all sorts are singing his praises. Alexander has a strong love of the heroic and tries to convey that in his art, especially in monumental work. He created sports sculptures while at the National Academy of Fine Art in St. Petersburg as well as monumental projects of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky in granite and of Russian Folk Dancers in aluminum. Here in the United States, Alexander was employed by Nike to create monumental sculptures for Nike Town of major athletes including Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen. His skill was also required to complete works at the Smithsonian Museum and the New York Hospital. Locally, Alexander has worked and studied at the Art Works foundry in Berkeley, the San Francisco Art Institute and the Monterey Sculpture Center. The City of Pacific Grove unveiled his monumental sculpture "Grandpa on a Bench" in June 2007, joining Christopher Bell's "Butterfly Kids" and "Life at the Top", also in Pacific Grove. At Christopher Bell Gallery, his 18 year work of celebrating the energy of music finally came together. 18 sculptures of varied ensemble players - drummer, trumpet, sax, harmonica, clarinet, keyboard, guitar, singer, bass, and others like maraca, tuba, dancers, flute, banjo, bongo drums, violin, trombone and conductor. Their realistic high energy and expressive poses are fed by the music that inspired them; they look so alive as to be in swaying movement. This is the first time the entire ensemble has been visible to the public. You will quickly find your favorite musician in this group, and then others will inspire you as you notice the rhythm and flow of these remarkable sculptures. newitem2 If you are interested in more information for any listed or related items email us at olson352@aol.com (or go to information page).