Palla Jeroff

Born in Urmchi, Western China of Russian parentage, at the age of 17 the Chinese Government selected Jeroff to study oil painting and drawing at the University of Xian where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts.  As an art professor, Jeroff was engaging in teaching and art research before emigrating.

A trip to Australia in the early 1980’s greatly affected Jeroff, inspired not only by the wonderful colours and landscape but also by the easy-going culture. It is rare for an artist to be able to achieve successfully the styles of a culture unfamiliar to his original heritage.   Jeroff has adopted Australia as his country and has transferred his artistic talent to a new land.

Although working primarily in oils and acrylics, the great diversity of the artist’s work is shown through his ability to use other mediums, such as watercolour, and ceramics.   Jeroff’s paintings are immediately recognisable for their wonderfully rich textures and colours uniquely capturing the spirit of the Australian landscape and its people.  He is guided at all times by his that artistic creation should be distillation: the result of a colliding spirit and the physical world.

Since arriving in Australia in 1985, Jeroff has gained tremendous success and recognition for his paintings, not only nationwide but internationally with exhibitions in Germany, France, China and America.  Following a highly successful exhibition in 1998, at the acclaimed Guangzhou International Art Exposition, principals from the Guangdong Museum of Art visited Sydney to select one of Jeroff’s works to hang permanently in the Museum’s private collection , one of the most prestigious art collections in the world.

Jeroff exhibits extensively internationally and throughout Australia. His highly sought-after work is held in government, corporate and private collections both national and international.

“I’ve been searching for a pure art language for many years. In my pursuit I have experimented with quite different styles over the years. Finally, after 20 years I believe that I have found a solution. The painting is not what you paint but it is how you paint it.