The exhibition “Reflecting on Eternity” is happening at the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg, Russia. It features 46 paintings and graphic works of art by Mikhail Maleev. Through the series of psychological portraits and landscapes the master attests to the highest values of Russian culture – The Russian Orthodox Church as a whole and monastic elders in particular. The artist depicts Holy Russia – a country where a man and nature are equally inspired and united in a sublime prayerful contemplation.
Mikhail Maleev – is our contemporary – a priest, an artist and an icon painter. He was born in the old Russian town of Zagorsk in 1958 and graduated from the Stroganov Institute. That’s when the artist started to get involved in Russian iconography.
At the same time he took part in the restoration and painting of churches in Yuriev, Polsky, and Pereyaslavl – towns not far from Moscow. The very first personal exhibition of Maleev was held in 1988. After graduating from Moscow Theological Seminary in 1994 father Mikhail Maleev was appointed an abbot of the dilapidated temple of Holy Virgin in Bratsevo where he created icons for the church “iconostasis” and trained a group of amateur painters.
He is a participant in more than 40 exhibitions in Russia and his works are included in the collections of several museums. In 2007 he was awarded the title “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation” by decree Russian President Vladimir Putin.