Igor Medvedev (1931-2015) Ukrainian/American, Signed Serigraph. Depicts a beautiful Mediterranean vista. Signature in ink lower right. Label on back with information about the piece, including the date (2001) and the title ("Vision Clear"). The lack of numbering suggests this is one of the more rare pieces, such as the hors de commerce print, not generally available for public purchase. 

Overall Size: 27 1/4 x 23 1/4 in. 

Sight Size: 17 x 13 in. 

Igor Medvedev was born in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1931, and his experience under the shadow of both the Nazis and Communists during World War II profoundly shaped his beliefs and his artistic sensibilities. His first exposure to art came from Anatoly Martinov, a skilled local artist who hid with the family in the early years of the war, before they were forced to flee certain death in 1943. In 1944 the family walked for nearly a month straight through Poland and Austria before settling in the American-occupied German zone at the end of the war. Throughout the journey Medvedev sketched the German towns he saw, finding comfort in the architectural composition and cityscapes and studying bronze casting and sculpture in Munich. William Sudduth, the head of youth resettlement for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, noticed Medvedev’s abilities and expedited the family’s immigration process to America, as well as helping him earn a scholarship to Dartmouth College in 1948. After graduating with a degree in art history, Medvedev continued his studies at the University of Berkeley, graduating with a Master’s degree in 1953. Over the next decade he had fifteen solo exhibitions of his work in Germany and throughout the United States, while working as a graphic designer and draftsman in Los Angeles to support him and his family. Though his art was affected by the popular movements of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Op Art, Medvedev found himself more inclined toward figurative work and structure. After marrying his wife Marina in 1977 they moved to San Francisco, where he taught at San Mateo State College and Los Altos Foothill College. In the 1980s he first began to explore printmaking, branching into serigraphy in the 90s. Working with the Romi Studio in Israel, with representation through Park West Gallery in Detroit, his work gained an international audience, but he passed away in 2015 at the height of his popularity.