Iliya Mirochnik
Originally from Odessa, Ukraine, Iliya immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s with his family. He studied at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Art and the Bridgeview School of Fine Arts in New York. Iliya studied in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the prestigious I.E. Repin State Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, from which he received his Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting. He has received several prestigious scholarships and awards in the United States and Russia, winning the “First Place” award in the American Portrait Society’s International Portrait Competition. He also developed an original design for a public monument in Miami, Florida. From 2018 to 2022, Iliya was a Professor of Painting in the Illustration Department of Ringling College of Art and Design. Currently, Iliya is a Lead Character Artist for ZA/UM studios. He lives in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife and son.