Until the 1980s, Kryvolap lived in poverty, searching for his artistic path. His first major commission came in 1990, when the Ukrainian bank Hradobank purchased 15 of his paintings for 100,000 rubles, marking the beginning of his growing recognition. After the success of his large solo exhibition in 1992 at Gallery Donti in Nuremberg, Germany, the price of his works started at $1,000.
Kryvolap’s style is distinctive and recognizable. His canvases reveal the poetry of simple landscapes and pure emotions. A leitmotif in his work is the Ukrainian metaphysical landscape — exploring the closeness of humans to existence, penetrating the secret forces of nature, and striving to grasp its grandeur and purity.
The artist experimented extensively with color until achieving his desired results in the 1990s. He worked meticulously on color harmonization — exploring tonal contrasts within a single palette, mastering vibrant hues, and using color to convey form, light, and depth. This careful study allowed Kryvolap to develop a color formula in which red, for example, can appear joyful or tragic. He generally avoids black, even when depicting night, with exceptions in the Horse series and in a landscape triptych, depicting a lake in Zasupivka reflecting flashes of night combat in 2022.
In 2015, Anatolii Kryvolap collaborated with monumental artist Ihor Stupachenko to paint a Kyiv Patriarchate Orthodox church in the village of Lypivka, Makariv district, near Kyiv. Using modern techniques and rich colors to depict figures from the Holy Scriptures, the artists adhered to traditional narrative and compositional principles.
In 2016, Kryvolap established a personal award of $5,000 for young artists. The prize is not given in cash but covers airfare, hotel accommodation, and entrance fees to leading international museums. Kryvolap believes that artists should be known for their work, not their faces.
Kryvolap’s paintings have been exhibited at the National Museum of Toulouse, the National Museum of Odense, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the National Art Museum of Ukraine, and the National Museum of Russian Art in Kyiv. His works are held in Ukrainian museums, private collections, and have also sold successfully at major international auctions.