We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sergey Gornushkin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sergey, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In my decade long career as a professional sculptor/artist I have had the pleasure on working on a few interesting and meaningful projects which included building a meditation sculpture park for a high school, building a large-scale mausoleum tower for a historic Mexican family as well as opening and running a gallery in a remote small pueblo in Baja California…but by far the most interesting project will probably be the “La Totoaba” sculpture built originally for the Unified Port of San Diego and later ending up being installed in Puertecitos, Baja California to stand for marine protection of the Sea of Cortez and specifically the endangered Totoaba fish species! The Governor of Baja California Francisco Vega alongside the Admiral of the Mexican Navy and many other dignitaries officially launched a Sea-wide marine protection program in the Sea of Cortez in 2014 holding the ceremony at my “La Totoaba” sculpture on Puertecitos boat ramp…That was pretty cool and meaningful I thought!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My public art career spans over a decade here in my beloved San Diego. Ever since I made this City my home some fifteen years ago I have been involved with the local communities on implementing art projects in the County of San Diego and neighboring Baja California ever since. My most notable achievements have been in placing large-scale sculptures on school campuses, involving the students in a hands-on approach to art making, working with district staff, landscapers, structural engineers as well as with PTA foundations, school staff as well as the larger neighborhood communities in order to canvas the most relevant information prior to project creation. I have built over twenty large scale sculptures for local schools and I am proud to say that my installations are being toured today by prospective students and their parents, they are being noted in local newspapers and put forward as beacons of those schools and communities that they represent. Over the years I have participated in numerous competitions, fairs, art shows and I have organized over fifty public events as President of the San Diego Sculptors Guild to promote art and culture here in San Diego. Balboa Park has been my studio and ‘backyard’ when it came to masterminding sculptures for public places. I know how to work with cultural partnerships, city staff, parks departments and landscapers in order to achieve maximum results on time, on budget and with everyone’s interests in mind. All of my work has been structurally engineered and approved and I know the process of making sure public safety is a number one priority. Besides safety, public engagement is just as important to me and thus I have integrated LED solar lighting in many of my installations, I stay on the cutting edge of modern materials, I try to use a multi-disciplinary approach whenever possible, I like to choose witty subject matters that stimulate thinking without being offensive or inappropriate. All of my work represents love for humanity, love for the environment and love for ingenuity and for a symbiotic human-nature progress!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I don’t want to be rich, I don’t want to be famous, and I don’t like to brag…my mission in life and my creative journey is to capture a moment in time through my sculptural installations that will carry on a useful piece of information and a positive message forward to future generations!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I think people should use my original fish head magnets instead as global currency!:) (www.fishheadmagnets.com)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pezgallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sergeygornushkin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sergey.gornushkin/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergey-gornushkin-84236762/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCupgdqc3llQLZU8S_UxDhg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/san-diego-sculptors-guild-san-diego

Image Credits
Pablo Mason, Vikko Rodriguez