M & I Garmash

M & I GARMASH
Michael Garmash was born in 1969 in Lugansk, Ukraine. He began painting at the age of three and by six started his formal education at the Lugansk Youth Creative Center. Recognizing rare, natural talent, his teachers sent his works to a variety of exhibitions in Ukraine, Russia, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Michael received first prizes at several juried exhibitions, including the Lugansk Regional Juried Exhibition-1977 (Best Poster), the Czechoslovakian International Youth Competition-1978 and the Hungarian International
Art Competition of Circus Related Art-1978

Michael Garmash graduated valedictorian from the Lugansk State Fine Art College and started teaching there the following year. He served in the Army from 1989-to 1991,(when he met his wife and partner, Inessa) and in 1992 began studying at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art. Prior to graduating at the top of his prestigious school’s class, Mr. Garmash exhibited in France at galleries in cities such as Paris, St. Etienne, Avignon, Lion and Marcel. Mr. Garmash also took part in the annual Exhibitions in St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition to painting, he has also excelled in the creation of stained-glass windows and received an honorary medal for his work in the Suvorov Military Museum in St. Petersburg.

Inessa Kitaichik was born in 1972 in Lipetsk Russia. Since early childhood she has excelled in, gymnastics and music. After graduating from music and ballet school, she entered the Lugansk Fine Art School at age fifteen. At seventeen she was accepted as that year's best undergraduate to the Lugansk State Fine Art School.

During his stint in the army, Michael returned to his former school on a two-week vacation. The last day of his visit he met Inessa at a bus station. Today, Mr. and Mrs. Garmash are considered two of the finest Romantic Impressionists of our day. Their incredible talent is only matched by their love and career stories. In similar fashion to the determination of his artwork, Mr. Garmash courted his future wife, after seeing her for but a moment, by painting her image all over her hometown while she slept. She immediately recognized the passion with which this man cared so dearly and married him shortly thereafter One year later, Michael and Inessa returned to the same bus station. Michael hung a bouquet of flowers on the station sign to commemorate the place where they met: The beginning of their “at-first-glance” love story.

In similar spontaneous fashion, the two began painting together. Several years after their marriage, Michael began a painting of their daughter for a project at school. However, their two-year old found the painting during his absence and painted her own version of the subject. Inessa, not wanting Michael to be upset, fixed the painting, packed it up and gave it to him to submit. Michael handed the painting over for review and was told it was his best work ever. He was surprised to see the “new” painting and immediately recognized his wife’s hand.

Since then, Michael and Inessa have worked together creating paintings, stained-glass windows, mosaics and drawings.