Using meticulous technique, Michael Gorban creates a realistic sense that integrates childhood memories and forgotten places from the Ukrainian village he once lived in. Gorban’s handprint is distinctly recognizable on the canvas. He consciously uses and applies color in a premeditated manner to guide the observer’s sensitivities. Gorban paints with the highest precision. The way he sees and observes communicates keen and amazingly powerful realism.


The subjects of the painting are primarily presented visually in the center of the picture. Gorban does not depict dramatic events; neither are these paintings imbued with any national-social-political-religious meaning. They are introspective paintings, sometimes devoid of movement, almost without human figures or vehicles, bearing many meanings for the artist’s sensitivities and his responses to life and reality. Some naïve charm, harmony and sentimentality are evident, as stylized narrative descriptions merge with nature and human reality.
A poetic atmosphere pervades the paintings, and a sense of silence and calm envelopes them. These paintings are far from being conceptual, heroic or lofty. They direct one’s attention to the poetical in the mundane. Gorban displays control over composition, relationships between objects, rhythm, and color harmony. He paints the reality of longing that belongs to the emotional and spiritual world, while emphasizing the color scheme suckled by nature, light, and the colorfulness of his childhood haunts. Revealed in each painting are beauty and exceptional colors, in a pleasing, intimate harmony, thereby creating a symphony of gradually changing hues at sunset or sunrise.


1981: "Speech and Peace" exhibition, Moscow

1983: "The Land and the People" exhibition, Moscow

1985: "Forty Years of Victory Over the Nazis" exhibition, Moscow
Participated in numerous exhibitions organized by the Artists Association of Moldavia

1986: Participated in several European exhibitions organized by West German banks,
featuring artistic works from the 16th century to the present

1987-90: Participated in young artists' exhibitions throughout the Soviet Union

1991: One-man show - Tirosh Gallery, Tel Aviv
One-man show - Artexpo California
One-man show - Yurek Gallery, Ramat Hasharon
Art Hamburg exhibition

1992: One-man show - Ludmilla Wagner Gallery, Munich

1993: TIAS - Tokyo International Art Show
One-man show - J. Richards Gallery. New Jersey

1993-95: Artexpo New York

1994: Artexpo Las Vegas

1995: One-man show - Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, La Jolla, California
Artexpo Las Vegas
One-man show - Regal Gallery, Carmel, California

1996: One-man show - Regal Gallery, San Francisco, California
One-man show - Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, La Jolla, California
Artexpo New York

1997: One-man show - Regal Gallery, Carmel, California
One-man show - Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, La Jolla, California
Artexpo New York
Art Forum - Tokyo
One-man shows in Tokyo, Osaka
Art Forum - Japan
Exhibition tour in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Fujiyama, Totory

1998: One-man show - The Caitlyn Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
One-man show - Regal Gallery, Carmel, California
One-man show - Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, La Jolla, California
Artexpo New York
Image '98 - Amsterdam

1999: One-man show - Gallery One, Denver, Colorado
One-man show - Caitlyn Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
One-man show - Regal Gallery, Carmel, California
Artexpo New York

2000: One-man show - Sutton Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
One-man show - Vally Bronze, Cannon Beach, Oregon
Artexpo New York

2001: Art Forum - Japan
Exhibition tour in various cities throughout Japan
One-man show - Sargent's Fine Art, Maui, Hawaii
One-man show - Gallery One, Denver, Colorado
One-man show - Central Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
One-man show - Valley Bronze, Cannon Beach, Oregon
One-man show - Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, La Jolla, California
Artexpo New York

2002: One-man show - Masters Gallery, Vail, Colorado
One-man show - Gallery One, Denver, Colorado
One-man show - Sargent's Fine Art, Maui, Hawaii
One-man show - Glickman House, Ramat Hasharon, Israel
One-man show - Galerie d'Art Francais, New Orleans, Louisiana
One-man show - Regal Gallery, Carmel, California
One-man show - Masters Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Artexpo New York

2003: One –man show – Sargen't Fine Art, Maui, Hawaii
One –man show – Regal Gallery, Carmel, CA
Artexpo New York
Group show – Museum Bar David, Israel

2004: One-man show – Gibson Gallery, Carmel, California
One-man show – Sargent's Fine Art, Maui, Hawaii
Artexpo New York

2005: One-man show – Hallmark Galleries, La Jolla, California
Artexpo New York

2006: One-man show – Gallery Rive Gauche, New Orleans, Louisiana
Artexpo New York

Group show – Metro Convention Center, Toronto, Canada
2007: One-man show - Gallery Rive Gauche, New Orleans, Louisiana
Group show – Designer's Walk, Toronto, Canada
Artexpo New York
Artexpo Las Vegas

2008: One-man show – Gibson Gallery, Carmel, California
One-man show - Gallery Rive Gauche, New Orleans, Louisiana
Group show – Gallery 133, Toronto, Canada
Lineart 2008 – Ghent, Belgium

2009: Jacob Pichman Award

2009: One-man show – Dizengof Museum, Tel Aviv
Group show – The Azrieli collection, Tel Aviv Museum

2014: Group show – The Saint Louis University Museum of Art