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Igor MetelitsinPublisher, collector, art dealer.
Date of Birth: 07.11.1950
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Igor Metelitsyn
Igor Metelitsyn was born on November 7, 1950, in Odessa. He came from a diverse family background, with relatives from eight different nationalities. When he was just 1.5 years old, his parents divorced, and Igor lived with his grandmother for a period of time. His mother, who was of Jewish descent, faced persecution against doctors and was forced to move to Siberia, where she initially worked in the concentration camp of "Dalstroy". Igor had to split his time between living in Odessa and Siberia after being reunited with his mother. When he was five years old, his mother remarried an Armenian man.
Education and Career
Igor Metelitsyn completed his schooling in Odessa and then enrolled in the Higher Maritime School. However, driven by his idealistic and maximalist nature, he later transferred to the Construction Institute, where he pursued his passion for construction. After graduating, Metelitsyn worked in his field, spending three years building the Zeyskaya Hydroelectric Power Station in the Amur region. He climbed up the career ladder, starting as a foreman and eventually becoming a senior foreman. However, after spending three years as a simple "line worker" in Bratsk, he realized that construction was no longer his desired path.
After entering the prestigious Moscow postgraduate program, Igor successfully passed his candidacy exams and obtained a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree, becoming a lecturer. In 1989, driven by idealistic reasons, he emigrated to the United States. Despite his limited English proficiency, Metelitsyn managed to find work as a provisional engineer without having to take any exams. By the summer of 1990, he officially became an American engineer. However, he soon realized that this career was also not fulfilling for him.
Art Dealer and Collector
In 1992, Igor Metelitsyn decided to pursue his passion for art and became a professional art dealer. He initially collaborated with Ernst Neizvestny, a renowned Russian sculptor, and together they undertook several successful projects. These projects included the creation of monuments in Odessa and Elista, as well as the launch of a jewelry collection. Metelitsyn describes Neizvestny as an "institute" and Anatoly Shemyakin as his "postgraduate studies".
As a former construction engineer, Igor began working exclusively as an art dealer in Russia and the CIS countries in 1993. He held over 40 solo exhibitions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities. In 2007, he was honored as a Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Over 100 articles about Metelitsyn's contribution to promoting contemporary art have been published in various Russian publications, as well as in magazines from Latvia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, such as "Decorative Art" and "Art Chronicle". Under his guidance, monumental projects such as "Exile and Return", "Golden Child", and the monument to the victims of repression "Sphinx" were executed.
Igor Metelitsyn's wife, Elena Metelitsyna, is also an art dealer and journalist. They have two daughters, Tatiana (35 years old) and Alina (26 years old).
