Igor Ustinov - Ustinov Stiftung

Sir Peter Ustinov Foundation: Igor Ustinov

“Joy is a magical thing. It has the power to make the most incredible things possible.”

Igor Ustinov

Like almost all members of the Ustinov family, Igor Ustinov is a creative spirit. He is a sculptor, trained opera singer, biologist and even an inventor.

Born in London in 1956, the son of Sir Peter Ustinov and the Canadian actress Suzanne Cloutier, Igor Ustinov first studied art at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. He then completed a degree in biology at Paris VII and additionally studied singing at the Paris Conservatoire.

Sculptor, artist, inventor, creative mind

Despite the typically Ustinovian versatility of his interests, Igor Ustinov's focus was on sculpture. One of his teachers was César Baldaccini, one of the most famous French sculptors and representatives of Nouveau Realisme. However, Igor Ustinov not only made a name for himself as an artist but also as an inventor. At the 45th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, he was awarded the prize for the best invention for the Ustinov Construction System for low-cost and waste-reduced construction.

Committed idealist in the fight against prejudice

Apart from the artistic ambitions inevitable for a Ustinov, Igor Ustinov is socially engaged and continues his father's humanitarian legacy.

In 1999, together with Sir Peter Ustinov, he founded the Sir Peter Ustinov Foundation, of which he is now Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He is also an active member of the advisory board of the Ustinov Institute for the Study of Prejudice in Vienna. Under his leadership and patronage, the Ustinov Prejudice Awareness Forum was also founded, and this serves as a platform for dialogue on the topic of prejudice, as well as promoting social diversity and cosmopolitanism. Igor Ustinov is also a member of the board of trustees of the Winds of Hope Foundation (a Swiss foundation to fight Noma disease in Africa) and the Carène Foundation, which promotes education and the preservation of traditions.

Works of Igor Ustinov

As a sculptor, Igor Ustinov works with bronze. In his opinion, it is the metal that immortalises the human condition. Most of his works show the motion of life with intentional associations to dance and the many famous family members who have designed sets and costumes for ballet and opera. Igor Ustinov sculpts elegant, elongated bronze sculptures, often reaching upwards, captured at significant moments in life. His figures usually have no face, while the heads are highly abstract and reminiscent of the figure one to represent a supra-personal and supra-temporal reality.

An overview of Igor Ustinov's works and solo exhibitions can be found here.