Master Mentor
Iliya Mirochnik
Artist Statement
My goal is to isolate the principles that have shaped my perception of the world around me, and use them, in the words of B. Pasternak, “to reach to the very core” . Following the traditions of the Russian academic school, my work relies on a firm footing in the figurative tradition and yet it is precisely this training that allows me to diverge from it. My work deals with exploring the correlation of a geographical and social solidity on a psychological instability, centering on the ideas of belonging to and exile from a “home”. Centering on such moments, in which the various strata of daily existence: financial, intellectual, personal, spiritual etc., intersect with each other and conflict, my work engages a predominant restlessness in human beings, that always finds the most diverse means of expression when limited by a geographical, national, religious, or familial certainty.
I believe in the exploration of a strictly visual emotive capability. Despite working with rigid and rational intent, it is fundamental that in the finished work, the sentient must take precedence.
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.
Biography
Originally from Odessa, Ukraine, Iliya immigrated to the United States in the early 1990’s with his family. From a young age Iliya pursued training in the arts in the Russian academic tradition. He studied in LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Art and in the Bridgeview School of Fine Arts in New York under the tutelage of professors trained in the art academies of the former Soviet Union. Iliya studied in St. Petersburg, Russia in the prestigious I.E. Repin State Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture from which he received his Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting. In his paintings he aims to connect the Russian aesthetic with American sensibilities, creating images that go beyond their origins. He has been recipient of a number of prestigious scholarships and awards both in the United States and in Russia, winning the “First Place” award in the American Portrait Society’s International Portrait Competition. Iliya was recently selected to develop his design for a public monument for Iconbay Residences in Miami, Florida in collaboration with The Related Group architecture firm. Currently, Iliya resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Education
2006-2013
The Ilya Repin State Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (The Repin Academy) St. Petersburg, Russia
Master's of Fine Arts Degree in Painting
Exhibitions
2016
The Paris Seminar Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY, Group Exhibition
Paris Seminar Exhibition, Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, CA. Group Exhibition
Impression, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO. Group Exhibition
The Contemporary Figure in Painting, Matrix Fine Art, Albuquerque, NM, Group Exhibition
How We Loved You, How Many Winters Ago, World Money Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, Group Exhibition
Novus Carpaticus, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY 2016, Group Exhibition
2015
Spaces Between, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY, Solo Exhibition
Nude, 11th Street Arts, Queens, NY,Group Exhibition
Dacia Gallery Artist Residency Exhibition, New York, NY, Group Exhibition
The Zurab Tseriteli Gallery Moscow, Russia, Group Exhibition
2014
The Artists Sketchbook, Gallery McCollum, Laguna Beach, CA , Group Exhibition
The California Museum of Fine Arts Hosts Realism Without Borders, Torrance, CA , Group Exhibition
Dacia Gallery Artist Residency Exhibition, New York, NY, Group Exhibition
Works on Paper, Dacia Gallery New York, NY, Group Exhibition
Represented in Mansions in May Showcase by James Yarosh Assiociates, Blairsden Mansion, New Jersey
Realism Without Borders, LCAD Gallery, Laguna Beach California, Group Exhibition
2013
Introduced as Artist at James Yarosh Assiociates Fine Art Gallery, New Jersey, Group Exhibition
The Zurab Tseriteli Gallery Moscow, Russia, Group Exhibition
Museum of the Academy of Arts St. Petersburg, Russia, Exhibition of Diploma Paintings
Exhibition Hall of Hotel Europa St. Petersburg, Russia
Grand Hyatt Hotel Atlanta, Georgia, Portrait Society of America
2012
Union of Artists of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia, Fall and Spring Exhibitions
Italian Hall of the Museum of the Academy of Arts, St. Petersburg Russia
Bibliography
Masello, David, “Iliya Mirochnik”, American Arts Quarterly, vol.34, issue 3, Summer 2015 p.43-49
“3 to watch”, Fine Arts Connoisseur, vol. 12, issue 5, September/ October 2015, p. 68
Doherty, Stephen: "Variations on Impressionist Painting", American Artist Workshop Magazine, vol. 6, issue 22, Summer 2010, p.30-41
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
