Alexander "Sasha" Dmitrievich Grishin is an Australian

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

based in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. He is known as an art critic, and for establishing the academic discipline of art history at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

(ANU).

Early life and history

Grishin is the Australian-born child of Russian parents Dmitry Vladimirovich Grishin and Natalia Dmitrievna Luzgina, who arrived in Melbourne in September 1949. He studied art history at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, State University of Moscow, London and Oxford.

Career

Grishin established the academic discipline of art history in Canberra, when he founded the Fine Art Program at the

in 1977. In 1987 this program became the Department of Art History. As curator, Grishin has been responsible for a number of exhibitions, including: *''Australian Sketchbook: Colonial Life and the Art of S.T. Gill'',

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

, 17 July – 25 October 2015, and subsequently shown at the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

*''Baldessin/Whiteley: Parallel Visions'', National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, Federation Square, Melbourne 31 August 2018 – 28 January 2019 Sasha Grishin at ARoS Museum, Aarhus, Denmark

Sasha Grishin at ARoS Museum, Aarhus, Denmark

He has written articles on Ken Tyler, Bruno Leti, William Robinson,

Garry Shead Garry Shead is an Australian artist and filmmaker. His paintings are in many galleries in Australia and overseas, and he has won several awards, including the Archibald Prize in 1992. He has spent time in Japan, Papua New Guinea, France, Austria, ...

, Wentja Morgan Napaltjarri Ruth Faerber Salvatore Zoffrea, Sydney Ball, Mandy Martin,

Charles Blackman Charles Raymond Blackman (12 August 1928 – 20 August 2018) was an Australian painter, noted for the ''Schoolgirl, Avonsleigh'' and ''Alice in Wonderland'' series of the 1950s. He was a member of the Antipodeans, a group of Melbourne painter ...

, Andrew Sibley, and many others. In 1977 Grishin became senior art critic for ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

''. Grishin's professional archive is held at the

Recognition and honours

Grishin was elected Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

in 2004. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours he was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) for "service to the visual arts and to contemporary Australian artists as an educator, critic and writer, and as an art historian". In 2008, he was awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, for "the creation of innovative and vocationally orientated methods of teaching art history and curatorship". A pencil portrait of Grishin by Andrew Sibley is held by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

Publications

Grishin has written on many art-related topics. Published titles include: *''Australian Art: A history', *''John Wolseley: Land Marks III'' * ''The Art of John Brack'. *''A Pilgrim's Account of Cyprus: Bars'kyj's Travels in Cyprus,''

Personal

Grishin lives in Victoria and Canberra and is married to artist G.W. Bot.

References

External links

*
Australian National University profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grishin, Sasha Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian art historians Australian women historians Australian art critics Australian women art critics Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Members of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne alumni Moscow State University alumni Australian National University faculty