Willaim Brui

William Brui (Russian born March 31st 1946) is a Russian painter, sculptor and philosopher of Jewish descent who has lived and worked in Russia, France and the United States of America Regarded as one of the most influential Russian avant garde artists, most notably known for his invention of the cosmos abstract expressionism and neo-constructivist paintings. During his eventful life, the artist claimed to be ‘lucky to experience a range of cultures, people and parallel universes’ through his travels after fleeing the USSR, which reflected in his commercial production. Among his most famous works are Unified Fields (1970s), Etrous (1980’s), Ex Adverso (1960’s), Temples (1980’s) and Substance Beings (2000’s). Many of his works are exhibited in MOMA (New York City), Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Guggenheim Museum (NYC), The Museum of Contemporary Art in Paris (Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris), The Center of Georges-Pompidou (Centre national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, Paris), The National Library of France (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris), The Russian State Museum (St. Petersburg), and in numerous private collections.

William was born in march 31, 1946 in war-devestated Leningrad. His father was an actor and traveled throughout the Soviet Union. As a child William took part in some of the performances. However, the tours did not make enough money to support the family and so out of necessity his mother began to work at a textile factory. When William was fourteen he dropped out of school and found work in a medical institute preparing scientific posters and devoted his remaining time to preparation for entrance to the Acadamy of Arts.

He began his formal art training in a special school run by the Acadamy of Art from 1959 and continued his art studies until 1964. He also learned by working as a graphics designer and in an "experimental" printshop. It was here that he and other artists branched out from official into non-comformists forms of art. Brui first applied to leave the Soviet Union in 1967, and three years later he, his wife and son were permitted to emigrate to Israel. He settled in Paris in 1971.