Last week I had a great pleasure meeting Serguei Iourov – a renown Russian artist living and working here in San Diego. Serguei Iourov graduated from one of the most prestigious art schools in the world (the Academy of Fine Arts in St.Petersburg) and was invited to live in the US because of his incredible talents. And here is a little interview I was able to do with Serguei.
Sergei, when did you start drawing? How young were you?
I was 5 years old when I started to sculpt, to draw and to paint.
What inspired you to become an artist later in life? Did you think of any other professional choices?
The house were I grew up and my kindergarten was located very close to the Academy of Fine Arts in St.Petersburg. My kindergarten occupied a small Palace build at the beginning of 19 century with beautiful interiors and gorgeous murals by Karl Bryullov. This Palace was just across the street from the Academy of Fine Arts. Next to the Academy’s building there were two beautiful gardens where we were able to find clay, colorful mosaic pices of “smalta”, marble and even semi-precious stones! That was a small inner court with a little garden, where I found an amazing iron casted horse with one broken leg. As I found out later, that horse was buried in a ground for over 100 years! Above of all of this I was visiting the Hermitage, the Museum of Russian Art and countless other museums of St.Petersburg and its suburbs every weekend! Do you think there was a chance to miss to become an artist for me? For sure I knew I am going to be an artist since my childhood!
I know you were granted US residency based on your extraordinary artistic abilities, have you been to the US before then?
Yes, in 1992-93 I visited New York City for a few months. That was very creative and successful trip.
What is your favorite media to work in? Oil, watercolor or do you prefer to create sculptures?
This is not ease question to answer, all medias are very inspiring for me and some days I feel more like painting, others like sculpting and I always love drawing.
What is your favorite art work that you created so far? And why?
Some of my watercolors, they are just as beautiful and amazing as the Mother Nature itself!
Who is your ideal client that you would love to create for?
I respect clients who are able “to see” and to appreciate real art, who are also generous and open-minded.
Serguei Iourov does private and public work. He has painted murals on public buildings and has worked with home owners to paint on their ceilings. He also created quite a few sculptures for public spaces like the one below. To see more work by Serguei Iourov go to his website HERE.
