ABOUT ARI ROUSSIMOFF
Self-Portrait of The Artist
Photo By Len Levinson
Ari Roussimoff, a critically acclaimed painter and film director, has been called one of the most prolific and creative artists of his generation. His paintings of Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish, symbolic and Masonic themes have earned him much acclaim and they have been shown in over 80 exhibitions worldwide, including at the Eduard Nakhamkin Fine Arts Galleries, M.L. International Gallery of Fine Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, A & J Galleries, The Bucharest Museum , The Nicholas Roerich Museum, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library and Museum, The Peter Fingesten Gallery-Pace University, Arma Galleries, Galerie Ehmer, Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery-Frostburg State University, The Theodor Herzel Institute, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Weintraub Gallery, Anthology Film Archives, Ingber Gallery, Hudson Guild Art Gallery, YM-YWHA, Art Gallery of the Educational Alliance, Galerie Fischer, Ukraine Club Gallery and many others. Among the many who have lauded Ari Roussimoff’s paintings were the modern art masters Marc Chagall and Oskar Kokoschka. And as a teenager, he was invited to lunch with Salvador Dali and his wife Gala. For some years now, Ari Roussimoff has also been active as a director of motion pictures. His first full-length feature film was the critically acclaimed surrealist horror movie, SHADOWS IN THE CITY. Roussimoff won the Phantom of the Movies award for Best Documentary of 1999 for his incredible film, FREAKS UNCENSORED (directed by Roussimoff, screenplay by Vivian Forlander). Considered by critics and audiences alike as the best ever documentary about Circus Sideshow Performers, FREAKS UNCENSORED was listed by the esteemed Facets Movie Lovers Video Guide as one of THE BEST DOCUMENTARY MOVIES OF ALL TIME! Roussimoff’s colorful life also includes creating sets for a Broadway show, costume design, performance art, hosting a three-part television music program on MTV and appearing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in a non-singing acting role. A colorful speaker, the artist has given many talks on his work (and still does). Roussimoff has lectured at colleges, universities, cultural institutions, and various functions in both Europe and America. He has perfectly meshed his life as a painter and as a filmmaker in a way that has not been done before. A world traveler, Roussimoff has lived and worked in Zurich, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Munich, Miami Beach and San Diego, among other places. Roussimoff works at painting all the time and considers each picture an adventure.
