Zinovy Shersher Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1947 -

“I want people to hear the music in my paintings," says Zinovy Shersher.

Born and raised in the former Soviet Union, Zinovy Shersher began his artistic life in his early youth. Already attending music school, he began to study art at the age of 9. Once he had finished high school, Shersher began his studies at the University of Fine Arts in the city of Kursk. After being awarded the Master of Arts degree in 1970, he enrolled in the College of Music, graduating in 1976.

In 1972 Shersher moved to Moscow, where he unofficially began his career in visual arts. Since he refused to paint politically-related images, such as portraits of Soviet political leaders, the Soviet authorities would not allow Shersher to exhibit his art to the public. With the help of his friends, he showed his works of art in underground exhibitions, in secrecy from the authorities. Regardless of the obstacles on the path of his artistic career, Shersher did not give up his creativity and continued to work in both visual arts and in music.

Upon arrival in the United States, Shersher enrolled in New York's prestigious School of Visual Arts. It was not long before his art was flourishing with his new found freedom and began to receive critical acclaim in one-person and group shows in New York galleries.

A composer as well as a painter, Shersher creates lyrical paintings which merge the emotional and intellectual into melodic images of passionate tranquility. Strong feelings for movement, expressed with curvilinear lines and cubist sensibilities, form a counterpoint to the artist's peaceful and harmonious themes.