Grigory Gurevich
| Grigory Gurevich | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1938 (age 79–80) Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Russia |
| Known for | Painting, sculpture, graphic arts, photography, illustrator, bookmaking, pantomime |
| Notable work | The Commuters, Reflections, 1-10; 10-1 |
Grigory Gurevich is a painter, sculptor, graphic artist, photographer, illustrator, bookmaker, mime and inventor. Originally from Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Russia, he now resides in New Jersey.
The son of an architect, Grigory Gurevich was born in 1938 December 26 in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Russia. At the beginning of World War II, he and a small group of children were evacuated to Kashtak, Siberia, and while parents weren’t allowed to go, his mother jumped on the train. Following the war, the family reunited in Saint Petersburg to find their apartment occupied, forcing them to stay with his aunt, living in her dining room. His father created the design for Dubna, a "city of science" near Moscow, but instead of receiving the financial grant (the Lenin Premium), he was given the medal for the defense of Leningrad, and was later fired by the Leningrad GSP-11 Institute for being a Jew and never having been a member of Communist Party, leading to financial difficulties for the family and the divorce of Gurevich's parents.
As an artist, Gurevich's work was first exhibited in the United Exhibit of Artists in Moscow when he was fifteen, and he went on to study art, receiving a master's degree in Art in 1961 from the Academy of Fine and Industrial Arts of Saint Petersburg. With a portion of his study devoted to architecture, he designed interiors, classrooms and laboratories, including furniture, then participated as an interior designer in a project with Architect Voronihina for Pushkin Museum, as well as designing Moscow's Winter Stadium. His first solo exhibition was held in 1971 at the Architectural House in Leningrad.
In 1961, Gurevich saw a performance by Marcel Marceau in Leningrad, which inspired him to spend the next eight years studying the art of mime, creating his own professional group in 1966, the first professional mime company in Russia. His company went on a six-month tour of Asia, where they met up and toured with Marceau. Gurevich went on to study under and establish a friendship with Marceau. On his return to Moscow, his company merged with the State Theatre of Satire, which was run by Arkady Raikin, who was famous enough for Gurevich to be able to perform freely without facing pressure from government censors.
After he split with Raikin three years later, he found that due to the philosophical nature of his performances, Gurevich faced increasing censorship from Soviet authorities, making it difficult to find performance space, and ultimately resulting in his emigration to the United States in 1976. Aided by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and Niana, groups that helped Jews emigrate, he first traveled to Vienna and then Italy, before arriving in the U.S. without knowing English and with just $90 in his pocket. He was placed at the Hotel St. George in Brooklyn Heights with other Russian immigrants, working jobs that included driving his car as a car service, antique restoration, jewelry design and carpentry. During this time he established Grigur's Pantomime Theatre as a non-profit organization in 1979, touring throughout the world. After relocating to Jersey City, the theater was awarded a $5,000 grant in 1981 from the New Jersey Council of the Arts in order to expand its facilities. At the theatre, he also taught classes in pantomime. In 1984, he became a citizen of the United States.
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