UKRAINE CHARITY: Bronze handmade sculpture Hippo Sculpture

Alex Victor Ihnatenko (AVI) is a native of Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Although he was born into a family filled with artists, sculptors, and skilled craftsmen, AVI began drawing at the age of 1. As a child, he found great joy in drawing and often spent most of his time drawing decents of pictures a day. Of objects, people, and animals that he observed. Up until his teenage years, AVI wanted to pursue an artistic career. However, after the fall of USSR his family experienced financial difficulties and it caused him to pursue a more marketable degree in Economics at Kyiv National University of Trade and Economic on a full ride scholarship. After graduating, AVI had a short stint in the marketing department at a real estate development company. Soon after he left and started his own business. Along with his mother, AVI opened a children’s center, named Da Vinci Workshop, that flourished into a school for young children. It specialized in providing a curriculum that concentrated on art and mathematics. One of the great achievements of the school was displaying the children’s work at The Central House of Artists in Kiev. Up until then, the center only featured works from professional artists. Another great achievement the school provided was that it inspired and reintroduced AVI to his love of making art. Hence, in 2017, AVI enrolled in The Academy of Arts and Applied Craft for formal art training. After three years in 2020, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with distinguished honors. His senior thesis, “The Birth of an Artist”, received the highest assessment of his class. Currently, AVI resides in Barcelona Spain and is a full time artist specializing in painting, sculpturing, and creating stained glass.