Vladimir Pronin

His works are in private collections in Russia, Germany, the USA, Australia, and other countries.

1991 Exhibition at the "Geoid" Gallery, Moscow; 1991 Participation in "ART-MIF" at the Central House of Artists, Moscow; 1992 Exhibition at "New Names" Gallery, Moscow; 1992 Participation in "ART-MIF" at the Manezh, Moscow; 1993 Participation in international fair in Sydney, Australia; 1994 Participation in "Art-Expo" international exhibition, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; 1994 Exhibitions at the Carl Springer Design Center and the Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; 1995 Participation in "Art-Expo" international exhibition, New York, USA; 1996 Created five paintings for a new Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship; 1997 Participation in "Art-Expo" international exhibition, New York, USA; 1997 Selected as one of six artists in Miami by Absolut for the "Pink Umbrella" action in memory of those who died of AIDS; 1997 Exhibition at East-West International Gallery, Strasburg, Pennsylvania, USA; 1998 Participation in "ART-Expo" New York, one of ten finalists in the Miami Carnival 1998 poster contest; 1994–1998 Ongoing exhibition at Mayfair Fine Art Gallery, Miami Beach, Florida, USA; 1999 "Gala-Carnival", dual exhibition with M. Shemyakin at Moscow Business Plaza, Radisson-Slavjanskaya Hotel, Moscow; 1999 Participation in the "Through the Harmony of Art to Harmony in Society" action at the stART gallery supported by the Russian Cultural Foundation, Golitsyn Mansion, Moscow; 1999 Participant in the Moscow International Art Salon, Central House of Artists, Moscow; 1999 Participation in Donor Day at the Russian Cultural Foundation, Moscow; 1999 Participation in the "Still Life" exhibition at the Belgorod State Art Museum; 1999 Participation in Sotheby’s charity auction, Small Manezh, Moscow; 2000 Solo exhibition at Galeria Del Sol, Miami Beach, Florida, USA; 2000 Solo exhibition at Ocean Reef Club, Florida, USA; 2000 Exhibition at the "Rosinka" international residential complex, Moscow; 2000 Exhibition at "Moscow Country Club", Moscow; 2000 Exhibition at the Canadian Embassy, Moscow; 2001 Exhibition at the Icelandic Embassy, Moscow; 2001 Participation in Operation "Hope" charity auction at the Russian Cultural Foundation, Moscow; 2001 Moscow State Exhibition Hall "Tvorchestvo" joint exhibition with A. Maranov, Moscow; 2001 Participation in the 7th Moscow International Hotel and Restaurant Business Exhibition at the World Trade Center, Moscow; 2002 Exhibition at the "Novy" art salon, Moscow.

I do not know – whether I chose the square or it chose me. One day I saw my "square" Madonna with child and realized that this was what I had been searching for. This is my concept, my know-how. And no one else in the world paints like this. Our intentions and ideas are given to us at birth. We must only learn to listen to ourselves. I never approach the canvas in a bad mood or with angry thoughts, as they will surely be imprinted onto the canvas. The viewer should see not my pain, but my joy in my work. This is the responsibility of the creator.

The artist Vladimir Pronin has proven his right to succeed "beyond the horizon" — he has held numerous exhibitions in the USA, including in Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New York. After returning from the USA, he held a series of interesting exhibitions in Moscow: at the Radisson-Slavjanskaya Hotel (jointly with the famous Mikhail Shemyakin), at cultural centers and "Ekaterininskaya Ploshchad" club of the Space company at the Cosmos Hotel, at Moscow Country Club (golf club), and at the international residential complex Rosinka.

Vladimir Pronin was born in 1955 in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. He graduated from the Fedoskino School of Miniature Painting in 1974 and from the Moscow Textile Academy in 1982. Before turning to easel painting, he worked extensively as a fabric designer, interior designer, and restorer, which evidently shaped the unique manner in which the artist works. His works are a kaleidoscope of colors and images combined with strict geometric forms, predominated by the square. Vladimir inherits the best traditions of Moscow art, including mosaic icons and patchwork folk techniques. His works instantly attract viewers. The vibrant, multicolored ornamentation with which Pronin frames the faces of his heroes is unmistakable and distinguishable from other artists.

Art historian St. Aydinyan writes about his works: "The artistic style developed by Vladimir Pronin in his creative search can be defined as ornamental neosymbolism. This style is realized and manifested in variations, but within it the painter is always recognizable..."

Faithfully following his concept, Vladimir Pronin addresses various themes in his works: religious ("Peter and Paul", "St. George", "Angel", "Salome"), theatrical ("All Life is a Theatre", "Masquerade of Color", "Harlequin and Columbina"), female portraits ("The Soothsayer", "Love Potion", "Morning Star", "Queen of Dreams"). Audiences particularly note his works involving children and animals ("Little Musicians", "Conductor", "Sweet Dream", "Parade Portraits", "Second Life", etc.).

One of the artist's favorite works is "Sweet Dream". In it, the artist managed to capture all the tenderness, love, the mysterious bond that exists between mother and child. It is not merely a portrait, but an attempt by the artist to create his own image of the Madonna and child.

The painting "Sweet Dream" began Pronin's collaboration with the craft center "Gobelin Design". The craft center "Gobelin Design" was created in 2000 at the turn of the new millennium with the aim of reviving one of the oldest crafts — embroidery. The work "Sweet Dream" incarnated as embroidery became the first and very successful experience of "Gobelin Design" with contemporary artists, and the painting itself gained a second life through the hands of Evgenia Khomenko. The collaboration did not stop there, and now another artwork, the triptych "Peter and Paul", has also been completed in embroidery.

The meaning of "Gobelin Design" is not only to embroider certain images, but to allow anyone to become involved in a creative process that was once available only to Russian tsarinas. Purchasing a kit from "Gobelin Design", you yourself can become an artist.

Love for creativity is not the only thing that unites Vladimir Pronin and the founders of "Gobelin Design", Evgenia and Yuri Khomenko. They all are people deeply concerned with social issues and take an active stance in life. The "Gobelin Design" craft center helps employ women with disabilities, thus giving them the opportunity for self-fulfillment and additional income.

Vladimir Pronin regularly participates in various charitable programs. His work "Love Potion" was sold in 1999 at the "Operation Smile" charity auction, supported by the famous house of Sotheby’s. He is also an active participant in the "Hope" charity program of the Russian Cultural Foundation, aimed at fundraising for a children's neurosurgical center in Moscow.

The artist and "Gobelin Design" have many interesting projects planned. In the near future, they plan to hold a joint exhibition which will interest both painting and applied arts lovers.

Vladimir Pronin considers his collaboration with "Gobelin Design" a great success, since his love for textiles, nurtured since his student years at the Textile Academy and his early work as a fabric designer, has long inspired him to see his work realized in fabric. Such creative success provides additional motivation, giving confidence that we will see many new and interesting works from both Vladimir Pronin and "Gobelin Design".

Vladimir Pronin himself writes: "A painting is like a living being with its own life. The responsibility of the creator is to ensure that the being he creates brings only good, joy, and light into the world, since there is already enough evil in it..."