Vladimir Kush is one of the most original artists of our time. Through hard work and talent, he became the founder of a new branch of art - metaphorical realism –, which is showcased throughout the world and in several of his own galleries. In 25 years (17 years since Santa Monica...), he transformed himself from a struggling artist who earned his living by drawing portraits on the beaches of Santa Monica, to a major artist recognized on both sides of the Atlantic. Vladimir’s American odyssey began in 1990 when he chose not to return to Russia and flew to Los Angeles. His first few years in the United States required a lot of perseverance and hard work. Finding oneself, the ebb and flow of artistic ideas, and the search for a style of your own is a long and winding path that remains hidden from the public eye. It runs in the dark, like the inner workings of the mind – the depths of subconscious – and must mature like a chrysalis on its way to becoming a butterfly. This is a critical stage of development during a formative time in the life of an artist. At the end of nearly a decade of unceasing effort in a foreign land, 1998 brought the starting point of Vladimir’s success as a professional artist and the founder of a new art style. By that time his most notable works – Wind, Fauna in La Mancha, Bound for Distant Shores, Nero, Sunrise by the Ocean, Music of the Woods, Candle, Atlas of Wander, and others – formed the defining examples of his method and laid the foundation for metaphorical realism. In 2001, with the opening of the first of his galleries in Lahaina on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, the American cultural environment accepted the artist and his vision. Metaphorical realism and the Kush Fine Art brand were established. It is worth noting that he settled on an exotic island in the Pacific, of which he dreamed as a boy but could not visit from behind the Iron Curtain that was the Soviet Union. Now KFA owns a number of large high-end galleries across the United States and has permanent exhibitions worldwide.