The Theology of Gold in Melnikoff’s Work
The Symbolism of Gold in the Sacred Triad of MFF: “Cross of Peace,” “The Holy Mandylion,” and “Ukrainian Phoenix”
Abstract:
This article explores the symbolic and artistic use of gold in three seminal works by Sergey Melnikoff (MFF): the monumental Cross of Peace featuring a Golden Crucifix, The Holy Mandylion, and the sculptural work Ukrainian Phoenix. The analysis addresses aesthetic, spiritual, and socio-political dimensions of gold in Melnikoff’s artistic vocabulary, where the material serves not only as a visual medium but as a metaphysical conduit between the sacred and the historical, the eternal and the contemporary.
Introduction
Across centuries and civilizations, gold has persistently served as a potent symbol—associated not only with wealth and power but also with divine light, incorruptibility, truth, and immortality. In contemporary sculpture, gold retains this aura of sacredness while being reinterpreted by artists as a conceptual language for expressing themes of faith, ethics, memory, and resistance.
Sergey Melnikoff (MFF), known for his monumental works produced amid war and political upheaval, constructs a unique visual system in which gold becomes not merely a formal device but a carrier of metaphysical meaning. This article focuses on three major pieces—Cross of Peace, The Holy Mandylion, and Ukrainian Phoenix—in which gold emerges as a central symbol in the artist’s exploration of spiritual resilience and national identity.
The Golden Crucifix in Cross of Peace: Light Amid Ruins
Cross of Peace is a monumental installation constructed from rusted rebar—an intentional allusion to destruction, war, and human suffering. At its heart is a meticulously crafted Golden Crucifix that radically contrasts with the skeletal, industrial frame.
Here, Melnikoff uses gold as a conceptual counterpoint. Rather than signifying imperial opulence, the gold embodies divine illumination breaking through the wreckage of history. The crucifix is not merely a symbol of martyrdom but an affirmation of hope and redemption. The fusion of sacred gold and brutalist steel evokes a contemporary Golgotha, where the crucified figure radiates not agony, but transfigured peace.
Gold, in this context, operates as a bearer of theological meaning and historical tension—a silent but resolute affirmation of light within darkness.
The Art of MFF | The torso of the Christ figure in the sculptural composition Cross of Peace during its creation—welding together shards strikingly reminiscent of human ribs. Once completed, the sculpture will undergo extensive mechanical and chemical cleaning, followed by electroplating with a layer of nickel. A layer of gold is then applied over the fully nickel-plated surface.
The Holy Mandylion: Making the Invisible Visible
In The Holy Mandylion, Melnikoff reinterprets an ancient Christian iconographic motif through the lens of sculptural realism. Departing from the flat plane of traditional iconography, the work renders the face of Christ in dimensional, metallic form, suffused with the subdued presence of gold.
This is not decorative gilding, but a deliberate invocation of divine immanence. As in Byzantine art, gold serves to dissolve material boundaries, invoking the ineffable presence of the divine. Yet Melnikoff’s treatment avoids ornamentality; the gold does not dazzle but glows—quietly emanating from within the form.
Gold here is the medium of visibility for the invisible, a theological aesthetic. It is not the image that reveals the sacred, but the gold that enables the viewer to apprehend it. In this way, the sculpture becomes not only an object of devotion but a site of metaphysical encounter between the eternal and the historical, the divine and the viewer.
Ukrainian Phoenix: The Gold of Resurrection
In Ukrainian Phoenix, a sculpture symbolizing the rebirth of Ukraine from the ashes of war, gold again plays a significant but nuanced role. It is not dominant, but strategically embedded—an accent of radiance amidst the forms of ash and flame.
While the Cross of Peace presents gold as salvific contrast and The Holy Mandylion as metaphysical essence, here it serves as a cipher for spiritual resilience and national rebirth. This is the gold of fire—not of treasure, but of transformation.
Gold in Ukrainian Phoenix affirms a future shaped by sacrifice and memory. It becomes a luminous trace of historical right, dignity, and the unextinguished sovereignty of a nation. In this work, gold does not proclaim triumph; it testifies to the indestructibility of truth and the sanctity of renewal.
Conclusion
In the sculptural language of Sergey Melnikoff (MFF), gold is freed from its conventional associations with wealth and spectacle. It becomes instead a medium of resistance, memory, and metaphysical inquiry—a form of light that does not blind, but guides.
Through Cross of Peace, The Holy Mandylion, and Ukrainian Phoenix, Melnikoff establishes a sacred visual triad in which gold functions not as embellishment but as essence. It bridges the visible and the invisible, the broken and the transcendent, the temporal and the eternal. In his hands, gold becomes not a relic of empire, but a testimony to peace, to suffering transfigured, and to the enduring dignity of the human spirit.
By Mihailo Saliuta, Academician
The Art of MFF | The dimensions of the sculptures created by Sergey Melnikoff far exceed the capacity of electroplating baths typically used even in large jewelry workshops. To accommodate this, a custom large-scale electrolytic gilding bath was constructed in one of the workshops of the Kyiv-based company Metall Chemie, specifically for the artworks of the American artist.
In the photo: Vitalii Zhuk, a Metall Chemie technician, applies a layer of 999.9 fine gold to the upper section of the Crucified Christ sculpture for the Cross of Peace installation.
Photo Credit: The Soul of Ukraine Foundation, Inc.
The Art of MFF | The sculpted head of Christ from the Golden Crucifixion, a central element of the Cross of Peace installation, covered in 999.9 fine gold.
The Art of MFF | The Cross of Peace with the Golden Crucifixion by Sergey Melnikoff.
The Art of MFF | The Holy Mandylion by Sergey Melnikoff.
The sculpture’s elements are forged from the “ashes of war”—fragments of artillery shells and mortars. The sacred veil with which Christ is believed to have wiped His face on the way to the crucifixion is recreated from 30mm automatic cannon casings, gilded with 999.9 fine gold.
The Art of MFF | The Ukrainian Phoenix by Sergey Melnikoff.
This striking sculpture is crafted from artillery shell fragments collected across Ukraine. To form the wings and tail of the mythical bird, the artist selected shard-like elements reminiscent of feathers, imbuing the Phoenix with powerful symbolism of rebirth and resilience.
The piece will be finished with a 999.9 fine gold coating, applied through electroplating.
The Art of MFF | Lead specialists of the Kyiv-based company Metall Chemie, Sergey Naumenko and Vitalii Zhuk, meticulously oversee the process of electrolytic gold plating of a metal sculpture.
The Art of MFF | The properly calibrated galvanic coating process involves numerous stages of treatment and preparation of the sculpture’s surface.
The Art of MFF. The Cross of Peace project featuring the Golden Crucifixion. | Viktor Bielchyk connects the gilded components of the Crucifixion using electrochemical bonding methods at the Metall Chemie plant in Kyiv.