The Art of Metrov

THE EARLY YEARS

He was born in Los Angeles. When, at the age of four, his mother gave him a book of Renaissance Masters, his life as an artist began.He learned by copying the drawings of Michelangelo and Leonardo. They became his first teachers.

After studying Art History and Filmmaking at UCLA, Metrov moved to New York City. His early work there was much influenced by the drug, sex and rock n' roll atmosphere of the 70's.

THE 70'S

With fellow artists, he helped pioneer the old, industrial neighborhood which would become the ever fashionable Noho district. His renegade accomplices were filmmakers, photographers, painters and writers, including Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon and director Abel Ferrara. His haunts were the lower East Side, the legendary CBGB's and Studio 54. Along with painter Philip Slagter, he formed the now infamous P.W.B.B.A. school [Post War Baby Boom Artists]. He supported himself by selling to private collectors around the world, and doing portraits of prominent Manhattan residents.

Metrov studied with the late Gilbert Stone, student of Gregory Gillespie, both Prix di Rome scholars and masters of Renaissance oil painting techniques. In the mid-70's Metrov moved for awhile to Rome. There, he studied the Masters first hand, in the galleries of the Vatican, the Uffici in Fiorenzi and in the very streets of the ancient cities. Upon returning to New York, he created what has come to be known as the Suydam Series, named after the gallery where this breakthrough collection was first displayed. He received prestigious reviews in the New York press, and offers to show in the upscale Allen Stone Gallery and elsewhere. His 9'X12' painting, 'The Gift', a surreal portrayal of a life size American Bison, went on permanent display in the Hall of States, in the National Visitors Center in Washington, D.C.

THE 80'S

At the beginning of the 80's Metrov returned to LA. He continued to paint and exhibit. In traditional Renaissance spirit, he also began to write novels and screenplays, design movie sets and costumes, sculpt and invent. His motion picture SOLARBABIES is still in worldwide release by MGM. During this period, he created the Adam & Eve Series [and countless variations thereof]. His work displayed in Los Angeles, New York and Sun Valley, Idaho, a favorite getaway, and home of many of his patrons. His painted rock series was exhibited at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.

THE 90'S

He spent the early 90's in Atlanta, Georgia where he painted, wrote and exhibited. There, he created the Universal Fabric series, a foray into total abstraction -- foam board relief panels constructed with acrylic paint on fiber board.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, he completed 'The Middle Path' [see Recent Works]. In this series, Metrov has come full circle. It is his attempt to distill all that he has learned and seen into a comprehensive style; a style that addresses the whole of society, the whole of culture, the whole of the human condition. It is his attempt to balance the myriad energies that bombard the modern citizen of Planet Earth, to make sense of it all, to dance with it, to transcend it. It is Metrov's contribution, his sharing, and his understanding of how to walk the Middle Path.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Mr. William D. London
Mr. Ben Vereen
Mr. Gerald Kushnick
The late Marqaux Hemingway
Mr. Peter Max
Mr. Abel Ferrara
Mr. A. J. Spielberg
Ms. Claudia Ruspolli
Mick Jagger
Ms. Bianca Jagger
Mr. Patterson Sims
Former Curator of Painting,
Whitney Museum, NY, NY
Mr. Keith Richards
Mr. Andre Farwagi
Ms. Joyce Ingalls
Mr. Jack Ragonese
Mr. Bruce Sturman
Mr. Herb Belkin
Mr. Menno Meyjes
Mr. Walon Green
Mr. Mel Brooks
Mr. Edward Pitcoff
Mr. Dominic Sclafani
Ms. Fontaine Murphy
Mr. Philip Slagter
Ms. Barbara Hodes
Mr. Bruce Sturman
Ms. Darcie DuPont
Ms. Laurie Lazaar
Ms. Ruth Hunter
Mr. Kenneth Harris
Ms. Prisca Balint
Mr. Mark Johnson
Mr. Daniel Carillo
Ms. Christine Campbell
Count Brando Crespi
Mr. Carlos Nader Simmonds
Mr. Richard Ratowski
Mr. Pete Cameron
Mr. Joseph Saviors
Ms. Prudence Warde
Mr. Tom Warde
Ms. Janet Belson
Mr. Jimmy J.J. Johnson
Ms. Victoria Golden
Mrs. Carmen Armstrong
Mr. Anthony Friedkin
Mr. Anthony Perez
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Williamson
Ms. Jordan Reeves
Mr. Scott Bradford
Mr. Russell Broom
Ms. Jean Blackburn
Ms. Alex Rylance

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