Work by the Ukrainian Sculptor Sold at the Auction in New York City for $20,000

Colossus That Awakens, the work by the Ukrainian sculptor Egor Zigura, was sold at the New Now auction, organized by Phillips auction house in New York City. The buyer paid $20,000 for it — more that twice the estimated amount of $6,000 — $8,000.

“After the successful auction in London, I was offered to put it up in New York City. This sculpture is a part of After Today project: it consists of a series of Colossuses, and each of them represents a certain state of the society or my personal feelings,” Egor Zigura said in a comment to Bird In Flight.

“The Greek and Roman sculpture has always been a symbol of civilization for many people — starting from the period of Enlightenment, the humanity has looked back at the Ancient Greek and Roman civilization as an origin, and our civilizations are similar in many ways. But we have achieved more: industrialization and globalization have reached every corner of the planet, and the planet is barely withstanding the pressure that we are putting on it. This is the way to downfall,” Zigura says. “One of the works of the series, the Colossus That Fell, was about it. The other one, Colossus That Rebelled, came to life after the events on Maidan (the revolution in Ukraine in the late 2013 — early 2014). Colossus That Awakens is the final sculpture of the series. It symbolizes the hope that the humanity awakens and will not cross the last line.”

Zigura started exhibiting his work in the Western auctions last year, and became known in the short term. Answering the question why such success is still rare for Ukrainian art, he says: “It’s hard to say. I think the reason is that many of our artists are not trying to create anything original, but copy the world trends, try to shock. And it may be that what the modern world lacks is good quality art.”