Zorikto Dorzhiev

Artist Zorikto Dorzhiev was born in 1976 in Ulan-Ude, capital of Buryatia, a republic in Russia. In 1996, he graduated from the College of Culture and Arts of the Republic of Buryatia with major in Painting. In 2002, he graduated from the Krasnoyarsk State Art Institute. In the period from 2003 to 2005, Zorikto trained in the Russian Academy of Fine Arts creative workshops in Krasnoyark (the Urals, Siberia and the Far East branch). After graduation, he returned to his hometown, where he engaged in work as a painter.

Nomadic Buryat life is the main subject of his work which, along with precise draughtsmanship and gift for colour, displays subtle humour and a taste for caricature. To Zorikto, “a nomad does not travel around in search of a better life. He is rather an artist, a poet, a philosopher, and often a loner.” His Oriental aesthetic involves refined, elongated silhouettes, with his subjects ranging from sensuous females - his iconic Mona Lisa Khatun has been dubbed the "Madonna of the Steppes" - to warriors on horseback evoking Buryats' Mongol ancestors.

"Zorikto is a true contemporary artist who absorbs the leading creative tendencies of the global art scene," said Tatyana Metaksa, deputy director of Moscow's State Museum of the Peoples of the East. "However, he remains a faithful son of his land."

"All of Zorikto's artworks are marked by gentle but merciless humor, which in fact is a form of compassion and acceptance to the lives of others and their suffering," said Alexander Borovsky, head of contemporary art at the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg. "Zorikto shows us the mysterious Buryat people, and how they are earthly and yet intertwined with the vastness of the heavenly realms."

In 2015, Zorikto was invited by President of Russia Vldimir Putin to present his works at banquet dinner of The Seventh BRICS Summit. In 2013, his solo exhibition «Steppe Story» had a great success in the Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), in the Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow), in the «Art Gallery» of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg, Brussels), in Neumunster Abbey (Luxembourg). Russian Plenipotentiary Ambassadors opened Zorikto's exhibitions in London and Luxembourg, along with an opening event in Victoria and Albert Museum. Zorikto's exhibition «Steppe Nirvana» was held consecutively in Tibet House, founded by Professor Robert Thurman as one of the most important Buddhist centers in the US, in 2013 and 2014. The board of trustees includes Yoko Ono, Martin Scorsese, Uma Thurman and other celebrities. The exhibition was opened after Christie's annual charity auction held jointly with the Tibet House. Khanhalaev Gallery participated in the auction with painting «Nirvana 3S» by Zorikto Dorzhiev.

Zorikto worked as a set and costume designer on the blockbuster movie 'Mongol', directed by Sergei Bodrov. This film won Nika, the main annual national film award in Russia, and was an Oscar nominee. In 2014, Zorikto was nominated for Nika and received White Elephant Award by the Guild of Film Critics of Russia for his work in the movie «Heavenly Wives of Meadow Maris» directed by Alexei Fedorchenko.

Zorikto Dorzhiev regularly participates in major art fairs in Russia, USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Zorkito's work can be found in private collections in Russia, the USA, Germany and Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Latvia, Belgium, and he counts Russian President Vladimir Putin, ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, actress Uma Thurman, and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso among his collectors.