Teaching Statement

I am a figurative painter and (most recently) an abstract sculptor. I am also an instructor of painting and drawing and consider that portion of my activity no less important and no less creative than the part of my practice devoted to making art.

I began teaching while still a student at the I.E. Repin Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia, a school with a 250 year tradition of academic figurative art.  As a teaching assistant I participated in the organization of student exhibitions and conducted short pose drawing classes on a weekly basis, assisting prospective students in preparation for the rigorous entrance exams for the Academy. Since having returned to New York, I teach constructive anatomy and figure drawing at the Bridgeview School of Fine Arts. I have also taken part in open panel discussions on figurative art in the Grand Central Academy in New York.  My role as a visiting teaching instructor in many atelier schools dedicated to working in representational art is one that particularly interests me as it allows for the interaction with people who are searching something in their work, be it technical knowledge or conceptual development.

I believe that as an instructor, one must aim to bring across to the student that only in internalizing the broadest possible collection of examples from the history of art, the artist is able to develop the limits in which to create.  As an instructor my goal is to isolate the principles that have shaped our perception of the world and collective artistic output and carry them over to the student. Following the traditions of the Russian academic school, my teaching relies on a firm footing in the human figure, anatomy, and perspective. Emphasis is placed on searching for the correlation between the 3- dimensional representation of forms and the 2-dimensional decorative elements that make up the surface of the painting or drawing. Studying the principles of value, color, and composition students are meant to traverse various media and methods to be able to interpret the world around them in a manner that suits their temperament and vision. 

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Upcoming Workshops                                                                                                             Click to Register

Figure Drawing and Anatomy, Menorca Pulsar, Menorca,Spain, April 2017                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Past Workshops

 

Artist Residency,  July 1- June 29, 2015  Dacia Gallery, Sibiu, Romania

Russian Academic Figure Drawing, March 23-27, 2015   Florence Academy, Florence, Italy             

Artist Residency- Figure Painting Intensive , February 16-27, 2015   Dacia Gallery, New York, New York

Painting the Portrait in Oil, January 12-16, 2015 Sadie Valeri Atelier, San Francisco, California            

Portrait Drawing, December, 2014 Academy of Realist Art Boston, Boston, Massachusetts

Painting in the Russian Tradition, October 17-19, 2014  Southern Atelier, Sarasota, Florida  

Artist Residency- Painting Intensive , August 18-29, 2014   Dacia Gallery, New York, New York  

Artist Residency,  May 1- July 12, 2014    Dacia Gallery, Sibiu, Romania

Reinventing the Figure, July 18-20, 2014 Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, Los Angeles, California                            

                                                                           

Lectures and Demonstrations

 

Constructing the Nude Figure, Lecture and Demonstration to the Illustration and Game Design Departments, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida

Examining the Russian Academic Tradition, April 30th Grand Central Academy of Art, New York, NY    Panel Discussion with Jacob Collins, James Sondow, and Iliya Mirochnik