Born in Leningrad, Russia, in 1982, Ilya Kushnirskiy moved to the United States with his parents in the early 1990s. As his father established an antique business in New York City, Ilya was immersed early on in the practical realities of the art world through his father’s professional circle. At sixteen, he began working at the Showplace Antique Show, where he learned the fundamentals of handling art—packing, transport, installation—long before stepping into management or publishing. It was an education grounded in physical experience: understanding how artworks move, how they are protected, and how meaning is inseparable from materiality.

That perspective stayed with him. It also shaped an academic path that crossed disciplines, from linguistics and political science to international business and psychology—fields that reflect an interest not only in objects, but in systems, communication, and context. Today, this breadth defines Kushnirskiy’s professional work. As a co-owner of Fine Art Shippers, he operates in a part of the art world that rarely attracts attention but underpins nearly every exhibition and collection. Logistics, handling, and coordination may remain unseen, but without them, art may simply not be accessible to the public.

In parallel, he serves as director of the Russian Icon Collection assembled by his father after the family’s relocation to the United States. Under his leadership, the collection has steadily entered public and institutional view. A key early step was the publication of a major scholarly catalogue, Russian Icon of the Mid-17th to Early 20th Century. The Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection, edited by Anna Ivannikova of the State Hermitage Museum with contributions from international specialists.

Released in Russian in 2023 and in English in 2025, the catalogue has become a widely used reference on late Russian icon painting. The Russian edition was presented at museums across Russia and donated to around fifty academic and museum libraries. Today, it is consulted not only by researchers but also by contemporary icon painters.

This publication marked a turning point in the collection’s visibility. In late 2024, the Russian Icon Collection was shown publicly for the first time in a museum setting at The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis. From February 27 to August 30, 2026, it will be presented at another leading institution, the Icon Museum and Study Center.

Looking ahead, Kushnirskiy is collaborating with the Naum Knop Foundation on a large-scale digital exhibition of Russian icon painting, scheduled to launch in 2028. The project aims to broaden access and deepen scholarship through digital formats—extending the reach of the collection beyond physical walls.

In an art world often preoccupied with visibility, Ilya Kushnirskiy’s work draws attention to the quieter infrastructures that sustain cultural life: logistics, publishing, and long-term institutional partnerships. These systems may operate in the background, but they are what ultimately allow art to be seen, studied, and carried forward across borders and generations.