Michael Rozenvain is a Ukrainian-born mixed-media artist based in Toronto, Ontario. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1963, he pursued his artistic studies at the Academy of Applied Arts of Lvov. In 2006 he immigrated to Canada, where the wilderness of his new home inspired a turning point in his art.

His most recent series of animal portraits merge engraving and painting on self-fabricated stainless steel “canvases.” Rozenvain takes a layered approach to these pieces alternating between mark-making by adding paint or engraving into the stainless-steel support to reveal the metal’s reflective qualities. He uses industrial materials and tools from fine rotatory bits to industrial gridding routers to render soft, organic forms and striking realism. The combination of oil paint, rotatory tools, stainless steel, and resin creates a fascinating mix of nature with contemporary mediums.

These paintings shimmer and shift when observed from different angles evoking the subtle movements of the animals within. Viewers are invited to examine the wildlife portrayed with the same kindness, curiosity, and wonder as the animal’s eyes looking back at them. Michael’s work seeks to highlight the relationship between humankind and nature, encouraging us to examine our place within it.