Olga was born in the city of Ukhta in the far polar North of Russia. At the age of seven, Olga was taught by a number of artist graduates from the Leningrad Academy of Art at an evening class held in the city. Olga’s talent was quickly encouraged and recognised and at the age of ten her art teachers proposed that she should apply to the Special Secondary Artistic boarding school attached to the Leningrad Academy of Arts.
Olga was accepted into this special school (one of only two in the Former Soviet Union) at the age of eleven where she studied until the age of eighteen. On leaving, she applied to the Leningrad Academy of Arts and was immediately offered a place. The Petersburg (Leningrad) Academy of Arts was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great. It occupies a beautiful purpose-built building on Vasilievsky Island on the other side of River Neva from the Hermitage. It is one of the most prestigious Arts institutions in Russia. When Olga was offered her place in 1983 competition was extremely fierce with about 800 candidates from all over the former Soviet Union competing for 45 places in the painting department every year.
The Petersburg Academy of Arts system has changed very little since its inception. It takes an unashamedly academic and old-fashioned approach to the business of mastering the skills and acquiring the knowledge and discipline necessary to become an artist. During the six-year course, students learn to master the media of watercolours, pastels and oils as well as every facet of drawing and painting.
During her time at the academy and the decade afterwards, Olga and seven other artists shared what little resources and income they had in an artist’s garret squat in a building known as “Apteka Poel” – one of the most beautiful buildings on Vasilievsky Island and an important hub in Leningrad and then Petersburg’s burgeoning underground scene during the 1980-1990s. Although materially poor the atmosphere during this period was never dull. The artists worked and lived in their own studios and were constantly visited by a stream of artists, musicians, poets, film-makers and scientists from all over the city and abroad. During this period, Olga also spent time copying frescoes at the Luzhetsky Monastery and painting backdrops up in the dome of the Mariinsky (Kirov) Opera and Ballet Theatre. Both experiences that have influenced her style and technique.
During the early nineties, Olga was invited to exhibit in Western Europe with several successful exhibitions taking place in London and Vienna. However, Olga moved permanently to the west when she met her future husband during a trip to friends in Britain. Since arriving in the West, the artist has been working largely in oils but also works in etching and mono-prints having learned these techniques during a year studying at the Prince’s Drawing School.
She has taken part in a large number of exhibitions in Britain most notably the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Kew Gardens and the Affordable Art Fair but also further afield in California, Spain, Switzerland and, of course, Moscow and St. Petersburg. She has previously exhibited with the Gateway Gallery in Hale, Cheshire, the Silvina Gallery, California and is currently represented by the Saul Hay Gallery in Manchester.
Her works can be found in collections all around the world.
