Artista Sergei Blumin

Biography:
SERGEI BLUMIN WAS BORN IN LENINGRAD (NOW ST. PETERSBURG), RUSSIA, IN 1947. From 1965 he studied the trumpet at the Moscow Conservatory. There, in 1966, influenced by the works of Kandinsky and Klee, he produced his first painting, using shoe polish, toothpaste, and ketchup for paints. This first creation refused to dry and, to the displeasure of Mr. Blumin’s roommates, for three months continued to emit a rather distinct odor. It did dry, eventually, and exists in the artist’s private collection today. In 1968, Mr. Blumin transferred to the Leningrad Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1970. Upon graduation he joined a chamber music orchestra, and since then he played the trumpet with various orchestras, including St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Alongside his musical career, Mr. Blumin pursued his interest in art, and in 1974 was made a member of the youth section of the Union of Artists. From 1974 to 1978, he participated in many exhibitions throughout the Soviet Union, including a personal one at the Summer Garden Rossi Pavilion in St. Petersburg. His works were acquired by the State Historical Museum in Moscow, by the Ministry of Culture (in 1976), and by the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg (in 1977). In 1978, Sergei Blumin emigrated from the Soviet Union. For a year and a half he lived in Europe, mainly in Vienna and Florence. Finally, in 1979, he settled in New York, and has lived and worked there since.