Born in Donet’sk, Ukraine in 1961, Andrei was self-motivated to paint and draw from a young age. His parents, Alexander and Anna Protsouk noticed his innate creative ability at the age of 6 when he impressed them with a clay sculpture of an Indian and a cowboy, possibly an early foreshadowing of his future life in the United States. Anna, a master embroider and calligraphy artist and Alexander a restorer, recognized Andrei’s talent as being one of exceptional caliber and therefore encouraged him to pursue fine art for the rest of his life.

After high school Andrei had been accepted to the exceptional Lugansk State School of Fine Art, an equivalent of a specialized art undergraduate study in the likes of Moore Collage of Art and Design and Cooper Union here in the U.S. Andrei graduated from Lugansk in 1981. His teachers had taken a particular liking to the way of his painting and drawing; they entertained and realized the idea for Andrei to pursue a Master’s degree of fine art from the then, Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (now called, the Russian Academy of Arts) in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Russian Academy of Arts is still to this day regarded, in the art world, as one of the best classical MFA art training programs in the world for its art education curriculum being transcended from the European baroque masters of the 18th century.

Andrei was taught under his dream professor at the time, the revered master artist Evsey Moiseenko who was not only famous in Russia but in Europe as well. Moiseenko, who was friends with other masters such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Robert Rauschenberg, unfortunately passed away upon Andrei’s graduation in 1989. Being one of Moiseenko’s last students, Andrei was heavily influenced by him and was his protégée. Protsouk graduated at the top of his Master’s degree and earned the “Lenin’s Student Stipend” as well as the “Red Diploma,” the most awarded completion for the diploma in Russia at the time. Andrei constantly gained notoriety at the academy for his exceptional student work. His drawings were constantly being confiscated by the Soviets to be exhibited in the school’s museum for being the school’s most exemplar work; some hang in the academy to this day. Furthermore, for Andrei’s extraordinary technical skill in composition and quality, his professors recommended him to fulfill the school’s commission to put his drawings in a soviet collage text book and in the school’s book on exceptional student work. 

After Gorbachev motioned the end of the Soviet Union, Russia’s boarders were open to the free market. Europe and the U.S. saw a huge demand for Soviet art. Art collectors saw this as a great opportunity to collect a glimpse behind the iron curtain through the vision of its motherland artists. His early work was reflective of harsh Soviet times, prosecution of artists and Soviet living conditions. Andrei represented these themes through the use of heavy textures, dark colors and somber subjects, where today, in contrast, he features bright colors, happy subjects and straight, constructive use of lines.

Andrei decided to move with his whole family to the United States. After establishing himself in the United States with the help of the Bixler Gallery in Stroudsburg, PA, Andrei has showed in galleries in SoHo and the ArtExpo in the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in New York City. He has also been collected by both corporate clients such as Coca-Cola in Denmark; Johnny Walker Expo Co. in England, Francis Lang Art, Hamburg, Germany and private collectors including former President George W. Bush.

Andrei has embedded his use of line into all of his artwork and has coined this technique as “Fine Line.” His straight, constructive use of line embodies his classical training in art in every way. In the academy, Andrei was revered as a master of composition where most artists were limited to only a few elements of composition in their artwork, Protsouk incorporated all of the elements of composition in his. This captivates his audience’s eyes which are drawn to move around his canvases so that every time anyone looks at his art, the unique composition doesn’t make you see his painting the same way twice.

Andrei lives in Stroudsburg Pennsylvania has his own studio and gallery space off Main Street where he lives with his family. Protsouk now exhibits his art globally. He has been represented in many galleries across the United States, Europe, New Zealand and Japan.

Born in Leningrad, USSR in 1953, Konstantin Chmutin now splits his time between New York and St. Petersburg. He studied at the Leningrad Higher School of Civil Engineering in the Department of Architecture, and is a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists, New York, NY, a fellow member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, London, England, and a member of the St. Petersburg Artists Association, Russia.

Alexander Sizif writes in "Grand Master of Mezzotint": "Taking into account everything ever said about Konstantin Chmutin it's possible to come to the natural conclusion: this artist was born for mezzotint...So it is not important at all, what objects are depicted in [them]. Maestro Chmutin prefers fruits and vegetable, still-lifes, sometimes landscapes and other genres. But whatever he makes, behind the irreproachable naturalistic images one can always reveal something symbolic, verging on mysticism. The stunning impression is that his 'heroes'--garlic, onions, eggshell and other familiar items of our everyday life--are as if hiding, scrutinizing us, onlookers, instead. His creations are amazing. They just open the gates of wisdom to a grateful spectator."

He has exhibited his work at numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, and has competed in a variety of international competitions. His works are included in the collections of the New York Public Library, Victoria & Albert Museum, Stanford University Art Museum, and Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, among others.

Evgeni Gordiets is a Soviet-trained contemporary surrealist phenomenon who was scouted at the age of five as a child prodigy. Evgeni attended the National School of Fine Arts; received his Masters Degree in Fine Art from the State University of Fine Arts and his PhD in Fine Arts from the State Academy of Fine Art, all in Kiev, Ukraine. After concluding his studies, he joined the National Art University of the Ukraine as a Professor of Art.

Gordiets' award-winning work has gained widespread recognition and is held in museums and private collections worldwide. He was honored among his peers in Kiev, where, from 1977 through 1986, he received accolades, awards and grants ranging from a 1st prize in United Nations exhibitions to a Top Artist Achievement Award of the Ukraine. 

"Today, for me, life and painting are one. I have no desire to follow fashion; it has no value to me. In my art, the sea, the sky, woman and child are subjects of importance, eternity. I have no passion for politics. I often use in my work, stone carved forms and water-- these are symbols of eternity. I love sculpture, and I try to unite it with painting. Women, the symbol of love, mother-hood and eternity, have great importance in my art. In life, there are some things that last forever; in my work, I communicate this with the sky, water and stones."

Gordiets' paintings are pervaded with a profound sense of calm and peace, conveying a longing for eternity and a place of stillness away from our throwaway culture. He creates a serene dream-like atmosphere where quietly magical things happen.

“In nature, I find a never-ending source of inspiration.”

Mihail Chemiakin (Shemyakin) B. 1943 - Mihail Chemiakin was born in Moscow and grew up in occupied East Germany. He returned to Russia in 1957 where he was admitted to the Special High School of the Repin Academy of Art in Leningrad. He was expelled from art school for failing to conform to Socialist Realist norms, and from 1959-1971 worked as a laborer in various capacities. In 1967, Mihail Chemiakin founded the St. Petersburg Group and developed the philosophy of Metaphysical Synthesism, dedicated to the creation of a new form of icon painting based on the study of religious art of all ages and peoples. Mikail Chemiakin is shown worldwide and is the Pablo Picasso of today. Art Brokerage is a major secondary market source for Mikail Chemiakin original paintings, prints and sculpture. Original paintings wanted. Listings wanted.

"For the entire time of my professional carrier I haven’t met an artist whose portraits and still-lifes’ were performed so superbly" Dr. Cristoff Graf Duglas, Head of Sotbis’, Germany. Born on the 29th of September, 1957 in Kishinev, Moldova. 1972-1976 – studying at Republic College of Arts named by Repin, Kishinev, Moldova. 1976 – entering to Saint-Petersburg academy of arts named by Repin, workshop of academician, professor Y.M. Nepritsev. 1983 – graduation from the academy with the diploma painting "Hans Golbein and Thomas Moor". 1983-1986 – works and lives in Kishinev, lecturing at Republic College and Institute of Arts, takes part in republic-wide exhibitions. 1986 – moves with his family to Uzhgorod, Ukraine, where he is currently living and working. 1984 – was accepted to the Youth Union of Artists of the USSR. 1988 – was accepted to the Union of Artists of the USSR. Vitaly Grigoryev is the member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine. In 1988 the artist has painted six still-lifes for the residence of the president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachov in Foros, Crimea, Ukraine. The paintings of the artist are in museum of Ukraine, Russia, Moldova and in the private collections of many countries of the world.

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