Aleksey Olegovich Zelya

About museum

Aleksey Olegovich Zelya – a Soviet and Russian artist, a master of artistic glassmaking, People's Artist of Russia (1993). He was born on August 1, 1944 in Moscow. From early childhood he was passionate about nature, which later was reflected in his work. After finishing school and serving in the Soviet Army he enrolled in the Faculty of Biology at Moscow State University.  

In 1971 he began working at the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant, where he first became acquainted with quartz glass and acquired the profession of a glassblower. In his free time between shifts he experimented with glass, melting it into figures of various animals. Later he also tried other directions – glass candlesticks, baskets, ships. In 1988, during perestroika, he joined a cooperative, set up his own workshop and began to develop his exhibition activities.  

In his own workshop he created new colors of quartz glass and methods of processing it. In 1988 Aleksey Zelya's first solo exhibition took place at VDNKh, and the artist received the complex's gold medal. Since then more than 150 exhibitions have been held in cities of the Soviet Union, and later Russia and Ukraine, which were visited by hundreds of thousands of viewers. In 1996 he built a house in the Moscow region, where he equipped a workshop on the first floor. Over his creative path the artist created more than 200 compositions, which allowed him to assemble a collection of original works. Aleksey Olegovich Zelya passed away on March 28, 2017.