It is the details that breathe life into Lena Toritch’s figures, expressing the emotion, spirit, and individuality of her subjects, which include human figures, animals, and fantasy pieces. Her recent large monument commission, Utah Law Enforcement Memorial, showed she has a gift for portraying triumph, sacrifice, and patriotism as well.

Toritch mastered anatomy, composition, and technique skills as a graduate student (MFA) at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts in Russia, her home town. But the drive for perfection in her work is rooted in her upbringing amid the art-enriched culture of Russia. Lena’s father, a professional sculptor, challenged the young girl to always improve on her work through studying great masters of the past and learning to see the world with an artist’s eye.

Granted “Artist of Exceptional Ability” status, Toritch has been working in the United States for the past 15 years. Her commissions come from all over the country for private, corporate, and public collections; her bronzes have been displayed in a number of international shows, including Christie’s Auction house in London

Portraits are Toritch’s love. A keen intuitive sense of a character allows her to instill “the being” into the bronze just by using a few photographs and some background stories.

“I believe everyone can be a subject of art with their unique features and life stories to tell. I get equally fascinated sculpting the innocent face of a child as I do the noble features of an old man.”

Whether she sculpts a portrait, an animal or a heroic figure, beauty and hopefulness are always present in Toritch’s work. To counteract the cruelty in the world, Toritch hopes that her art inspires people to remember to do good.

“Just as exposure to brutality can make you violent, I believe exposure to beautiful and harmonious things can make you kinder.”

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