Aleksandr Kharitonov was born in Moscow in 1932 and studied at the Moscow Secondary Art School. The language of his art is inseparable from his religious conviction that every point in space symbolizes the entire picture of the world. The first exhibition of Kharitonov’s work took place at Moscow University in 1958. The same year he met Zverev and Plavinsky, who became his lifelong friends and colleagues.
He described his work in the following words: «My art is based on the three whales, Byzantine iconography, ancient Russian iconography, and church precious stone, pearl, and bead embroidery». The Pointillist technique of Kharitonov’s plastic art is far from that of the Impressionistic tradition. It is related to the symbolism of the Byzantine mosaic, and its shimmering light transforms from within.
Kharitonov created each of his compositions following lengthy contemplation and deep emotional reflection. The soft, magical illumination of his works emerges from the surface of the painting, as if arising from a distant source located somewhere in the outer space. The «religious cosmos» of Kharitonov consistently attracted attention at the exhibitions of the Moscow underground. Kharitonov died in Moscow in 1993.