Born in the industrial city of Donetsk in 1961, Andrei Protsouk demonstrated an exceptional gift for art from a young age. With his father a photographer and his mother a master embroiderer, it seemed only natural that he too would pursue a career within the arts. On leaving school Protsouk attended the prestigious Lugansk School of Fine Art, followed by a Master’s Degree at the Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute; widely regarded as one of the world’s finest art training programmes. Here, Protsouk studied under Evsey Moiseenko- a world renowned contemporary of Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso. Moiseenko adopted Protsouk as his protegee, recognizing the potential of his already remarkable talent. Protsouks early works reflected the melancholy of the Soviets living conditions; using heavy textures and dark colours.