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January 3, 2003
Gallery sells Israeli art
Curators to host a solo exhibit of Vadim Puyandaev.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
A new art gallery that will feature only Jewish or Israeli artists
has opened near the corner of Granville and Broadway in Vancouver.
According to the owners, Elena and Konstantin Kurbatoff, their gallery
will display and sell only high-quality works from artists whose
paintings are not otherwise available in Vancouver. Currently the
Kurbatoff Art Gallery has both oil and acrylic works on canvas by
four Israeli artists Boris Cheboksarov, Vladimir Brodetsky,
Igor Munk and Vadim Puyandaev.
Konstantin Kurbatoff said the work of these four will always be
on display at their gallery. They plan on eventually bringing in
the work of many other Jewish or Israeli artists as well.
"I think we are the only gallery who exhibits Israeli artists
directly from Israel," said Kurbatoff. "Not Israeli artists
who are living here. All these artists have been exhibited a lot
all around Europe but not in Canada."
Elena Kurbatoff said they are confident that their gallery will
be successful because of the quality of the artists they feature.
"Every serious person who is really interested in art can always
find someone among those four that they like," she said. "The
level of what we have here is very high and that makes us confident."
Konstantin added that they also take pride in supporting Israeli
artists at a time when Israel's entire economy is struggling.
"They are not only talented artists," he said. "They
are also very good people."
Both art enthusiasts, Elena and Konstantin were born and raised
in Kharkov, Ukraine, where they attended Kharkov State University
and each earned a bachelor of arts degree. However, the couple never
actually met until they had both eventually moved to Israel.
Two and a half years ago they decided to move from Israel to Vancouver
to live in the country to which Konstantin had always dreamed of
coming.
"I liked the nature and the atmosphere [of Vancouver],"
he said. "It's cosy here."
When Cheboksarov, who is also a friend of theirs, came to visit
them in Vancouver, he gave the couple the idea of opening a gallery.
The Kurbatoff Art Gallery opened Oct. 11 and, from Jan. 10-25, it
will host its first solo exhibit, featuring the work of Puyandaev.
A painter, sculptor and interior artistic designer, Puyandaev's
work often features the use of the sand and colors found around
the hills of Eilat and the Red Sea.
He has exhibited his work in galleries around western Europe and
the United States and he spent two years in the late 1990s as the
artistic designer of Herod's Palace Hotel, Eilat's largest hotel
complex.
The Kurbatoff Art Gallery is located at 2427 Granville. Its hours
are Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Sunday, noon-4 p.m.
More information can be found online at www.kurbatoffart.com or
by calling 604-736-5444.
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