Word from the Bridgeview Founder
Programs
Faculty
Student Gallery
Location and Contact Information
Tel. (718) 937-1300
Bridgeview
faculty fully represents the European classical
tradition
Almost every member of the Bridgeview faculty can trace his lineage to a great 19th century artist. For example, the teacher of Samuel Kudish was a student of Pier Bonnard. While artists in Western Europe and America were turning towards abstraction, the Russian academies, isolated by the Iron Curtain, adhered to the classical methods of art education.
Bridgeview teachers received the most rigorous academic training.
The official training of an artist in Russia lasts 16 years. At the age of 9 gifted children begin attending a special school where along with general subjects they draw, paint and sculpt every day. After high school they have to pass a number of exams to be admitted to an art academy. At the academy they study for six years. The first five are designed to challenge and improve drawing, painting and composition techniques. The sixth year is devoted to diploma work in producing a sizable, thematic painting or sculpture.
Bridgeview School's location is also a special advantage.
Located in Long Island City (Queens), which is an emerging art center of New York and a new home to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA Queens), Bridgeview is in the midst of cultural renewal. Its other neighbors include PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, the Noguchi Museum, and the Sculpture Center, just to name a few. On the other hand, we are only one subway stop from Manhattan, the most vibrant art community in the world.
"What I
enjoyed most about working with Samuel Kudish was the
fact that his passion for art came through in everything
he said...He understands the role that honesty plays in
making good paintings, and I found this refreshing and
incredibly helpful."
~Elizabeth Yoakum, portrait painter.
"Once
again, thank you for the wonderful portrait sculpture
workshop. Those were five of the best days I've had in a
long time. Not only did I learn a great deal from Larissa
and Vitaly, but I felt truely inspired by the atmosphere
of the class. It was fun without ever being silly or
trivial, serious without being oppressive, and very
creative without being false. I will recommend your
school to the serious students."
~Ted Sheridan, sculptor and graduate of the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
"I
cannot express how lucky we feel to have found your
school. You had a wonderful vision and the students and
teachers are merely a testament to that. Thank you so
very much"
~Meg LaBarbara (Samantha's Mom)