| AnnaMir was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, a magnificent city rich in arts, culture and history. The early impressions of growing up in the environment of classical beauty and grandeur shaped her esthetic sense and created a foundation for the development of creative imagination and profound interest in arts.
She started studying drawing, painting and sculpture at an early age. Her family moved to Moscow where Anna entered a school specialized in art. Her talent attracted attention of her teachers and peers. She was accepted into a private drawing class of a renowned Russian artist Alexander Sharov.
In Soviet Russia formal art studies were focused on classical techniques. "Modern approach" was not allowed in schools. Anna was participating in "officially recognized" student exhibitions and at the same time joined the groups of artists who would exhibit their "experimental" works in unofficial "private" shows. Her early paintings, mostly hung alongside the works of much older peers, drew attention of art collectors in Moscow and St. Petersburg. She started developing the network of fans and friends among the art lovers - the group that would expand over the continents in the years to come, but still remain very exclusive and private.
The eighties were a decade of extensive studies in Anna's life. She continued painting, but also worked in printmaking, graphic and illustration. She studied architecture in Moscow Institute of Architecture, art history in University of Moscow, fine arts and graphic in Moscow School of Applied Arts (formerly Stroganoff Art School - a prestigious institution founded in 1825 by count Stroganoff). Later she moved to Germany to study graphic design and illustration in Kunsthohschule Berlin. She participated in Old Masters Study program, traveling to France, Italy and Spain to work in the finest museums of Europe. During this time she exhibited her works in numerous shows in Russia, Germany and Hungary, but preferred working for private collectors, painting portraits, murals, site-specific still life and landscapes on commission.
When AnnaMir moved permanently to the US in the early nineties, her first choice of residence was Washington D.C. because of it's great collection of classical art and the lively international cultural life of it's embassies. She exhibited in the local galleries and kept working with collectors, many of whom became her close friends. AnnaMir currently lives in San Francisco Bay Area. She is a US citizen and she has no plans to move. She says: "It was love at the first sight. Traveling has always been a very important stimulus for my creativity. I traveled half of the globe, but in San Francisco I found that nurturing quality I have never felt anywhere else. It's the only place in the world I call home. I am a San Franciscan, very passionately so".
|
|
