Arsen Kurbanov / Арсен Курбанов, 1969

Aрсен Курбанов was born in Mahachkala, Dagestan republic of Dagestan, in the USSR. His mother and father were artists as is his brother.

In 1988 he completed coursework at the Jamal Dagestan Art College, receiving a red diploma - a symbol of scholastic excellence. Kurbanov was immediately accepted into the Repin Institute in St. Petersburg, where he studied with the late Neprintsov, graduating in 1994.

After graduating in 1994, Kurbanov exhibited his final artwork to the graduation committee and was accepted into the "Union of Russian Artists".

Evita Medina | Symbolist / Surrealist painter

Evita Medina is an artist residing in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

From a young age she felt the need to paint as the best way to express what she could not count on with words.

There is therefore not a moment, a starting point in her life in which she decided to take the brushes, somehow they were always there, traveling the same way and being the reason for her existence.

Fausto Zonaro | Orientalist / Genre painter

Fausto Zonaro🎨 (18 September 1854 - 19 July 1929) was an Italian painter🎨, best known for his Realist style paintings of life and history of the Ottoman Empire.

Born in Padua, Fausto Zonaro graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.

He exhibited his work in Italy in the late 1880s before moving to Paris.

In 1891, at his wife's request, Zonaro moved from Venice to Istanbul and settled in a house in Taksim, on the northern bank of the Golden Horn.

He quickly adapted to the Turkish way of life, speaking Turkish, wearing a fez and attending the Selamlðk.

For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Zonaro see:

• Fausto Zonaro | Orientalist painter🎨

Jaroslaw Jasnikowski, 1976 | Surrealist painter

Jaroslaw Jasnikowski is a Polish surrealist painter🎨 of the young generation.

He lives in Legnica. He graduated from Głogowskie Studium Sztuk Plastycznych where he received a diploma under the supervision of Telemach Pilitsis in September 2001.

His artistic work include three individual exhibitions:

• Dziedzictwo Czwartego Wymiaru - The heritage of the fourth dimension, Legnica 1995;
• Dziecko gwiazd - Stars child, Legnica 2000;
• Zmierzch naszych czasów -The twilight of our times, Legnica 2002

and the range of group exhibitions.

Jaroslaw was also awarded🎨 the prize for the artistic achievements from the President of Legnica.

Jack Vettriano | Lovers and Others Strangers

Jack Vettriano, OBE (1951-2025) was a Scottish painter.

Critics hate him.

Celebrities collect him.

The public buy his posters in their millions: Jack Vettriano reveals the dark side that has made him our most controversial artist.

Dalai Lama: "L’amore totale si fonda non sull’attaccamento, ma sull’altruismo.."

• "To remain indifferent to the challenges we face is indefensible".

• "Rimanere indifferenti alle sfide che dobbiamo affrontare è indifendibile"!

• "If the goal is noble, whether or not it is realized within our lifetime is largely irrelevant".

• "Se l'obiettivo è nobile, il fatto che venga realizzato o meno durante la nostra vita è in gran parte irrilevante".

• "What we must do therefore is to strive and persevere and never give up".

• "È importante rendersi conto abbastanza presto che la vita umana non è una questione semplice. Per viverla bene e non scoraggiarsi quando sorgono problemi è indispensabile acquisire una forza interiore".

Steve Hanks

Erwin Blumenfeld | Fashion / Surrealist photographer

Erwin Blumenfeld (26 January 1897 - 4 July 1969) was one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century.

An experimenter and innovator, he produced an extensive body of work including drawings, collages, portraits, celebrity portraiture, advertising campaigns and his renowned fashion photography both in black and white and color.

He was born in Berlin, and in 1941 emigrated to the United States, where he soon became a successful and well-paid fashion photographer, working as a free-lancer for Harper's Bazaar, Life and American Vogue.