Slava ilyayev biography of michael

Collectors around the world love the remarkably textured paintings of acclaimed artist Slava Ilyayev. While his style is uniquely his own, Ilyayev regularly cites Impressionists like Vincent van Gogh and Camille Pissarro as major influences on his work.

So it begs the question—Is Ilyayev an Impressionist?

Because it’s one of our most frequently asked questions from Ilyayev’s collectors, we asked art expert and Park West Gallery Director Morris Shapiro for an answer.

Here’s what he said:

The question is often asked when viewing the paintings of Slava Ilyayev, “Are these Impressionist paintings?”

One of the first and most influential modern art movements was Impressionism.

The Impressionist painters sought to break away from the illusion of reality in painting, and to allow painting to become “paint-ing”—that is, no longer smoothing out surfaces, allowi