CENTER OF THE HEART
Artist: Anton Vitkovskiy
Series: Visual Rituals
Style: Tribal Expressionism / Light Reflective Painting
Year: 2026
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 80 x 100 cm (31.4 x 39.3 inches)
Depth: 1.5 inches
"Center of the Heart" is the third painting in the Visual Rituals series.
The title refers to an inner place of connection, presence, and awareness that exists beneath thought and beyond language. Across cultures and throughout history, the heart has been understood not only as a physical organ but as a symbolic center of perception, intuition, memory, and life itself. This painting explores that center as a meeting place between the individual and the living world.
Inspired by prehistoric cave art, petroglyphs, ritual symbolism, and altered states of perception, the work presents a radiant symbolic structure organized around a circular core. At its center stands an archetypal Kokopelli figure surrounded by signs, pathways, and visual traces drawn from ancient symbolic traditions.
Expanding outward from the central circle is a vast network of branching forms that resemble roots, rivers, veins, nervous systems, fungal networks, and the unseen patterns through which life connects itself. The composition suggests that every living thing participates in a greater web of relationships extending far beyond the boundaries of the individual self.
The lower portion of the painting contains handprints, animals, human figures, and symbolic motifs inspired by prehistoric visual languages found throughout the world. These marks echo humanity's enduring desire to leave traces of experience, memory, and presence across generations.
The circular form at the center functions as both a sun and a portal — a symbolic heart from which the entire composition emerges. Rather than depicting a specific mythology, the painting draws from recurring archetypal patterns that appear throughout human history, connecting ancient traditions with contemporary consciousness.
Created with layered mark-making, UV-reactive paints, glow-in-the-dark pigments, iridescent and metallic paints, the painting exists in multiple visual states. In ordinary light, under ultraviolet illumination, and in darkness, different layers of the composition emerge. Iridescent and metallic elements respond to movement, light, and viewing angle, creating an additional perceptual dimension that continuously alters the visual experience of the artwork.
When displayed with a programmed breathing UV light (sold separately), the artwork gradually shifts between states of visibility, causing symbols, forms, and colors to emerge and recede over time. This creates the sensation that the painting itself is breathing, transforming the work from a static image into a living visual experience.
"Center of the Heart" continues the Visual Rituals series' exploration of consciousness, memory, ritual, and humanity's relationship with nature. It reflects the idea that beneath apparent separation there exists an underlying network connecting all forms of life through a shared center.
Materials
Acrylic paint, UV-reactive paints, glow-in-the-dark pigments, iridescent and metallic paints on canvas.
Artwork Details
• Original one-of-a-kind artwork
• Handmade by the artist
• Signed and dated on the reverse
• Created in Moscow, Russia in February 2026
• Certificate of Authenticity included
• Professionally restretched and ready to hang upon arrival
Shipping
International shipping is available worldwide. Shipping costs vary depending on destination and will be calculated separately after purchase. Please contact the artist for an international shipping quote before placing an order.
This artwork is currently unstretched for storage and transportation purposes. Upon purchase, it will be professionally restretched before shipping.
Ships worldwide from Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
Free shipping within the United States.