Mikhail Evstafiev Bio

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mikhailEVSTAFIEV

Mikhail EVSTAFIEV (b. 1963) has divided his life between art and hardcore history. Since childhood, inspired by the work of his mother, grandmother and great grandfather – all Russian sculptors - he has been drawing, working with clay and mixing oil colours on canvases. He also began photographing at an early age. His father taught him the basics of camera work and darkroom techniques.

Growing up in Moscow, he spent many hours in his mother's and grandmother's studios, but eventually chose a different path, one closer to his father's, graduating from the Moscow State University with a Master's in International Journalism.

He began work as a reporter for TASS News Agency, and later volunteered to serve in Afghanistan. During a two-year tour of duty, he spent as much time amongst the 'grunts' of war, out in the firing line, as with the generals. After the war, he wrote and published the novel "Two Steps from Heaven".

As a journalist, Mikhail coved the break-up of the Soviet Union, conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chechnya, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Tajikistan and Transdniestria, and the political scene in the Kremlin. He worked for Agence France-Presse and later for REUTERS , first in Moscow, and then in London and Washington D.C., leaving the agency in 2003. He now lives with his family in Vienna, Austria.

Mikhail Evstafiev's work has been exhibited broadly, including in China, Europe, Russia and the United States. His paintings and photographs are in the collections of the Moscow House of Photography and SOLMS, Gallery der Leica Camera AG, and in private collections and galleries in Andorra, Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Poland, Russia and the United States.

His work appeared in leading international magazines and newspapers and was published in numerous books, including Afghanistan: lifting the veil, Prentice Hall, 2002; Love: A Celebration of Humanity, William Morrow, 2001; Facing the World: Great Moments in Photojournalism, Harry N Abrams, 2001; Magic Moments II, Leica World, 2000. His work is listed in "Allgemeines Kuenstlerlexikon" (The World Biographical Dictionary of Artists), 2003 edition.

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