Michael Rogatchi was born in 1953 to a Jewish family in the Far Northern East, in a place known as the Valley of Death, named that way because of the many concentration camps created there by the regime of Stalin.
Following the destiny of Michael's father, who was a political prisoner in a concentration camp, the family was expelled to Kazakhstan.
Later, when Michael was a student, he continued his education in the Ukraine where his family was originally from, and graduated in 1980 from the Dnepropetrovsk University (Ukraine) as a Master of Science in neurochemistry, and is an expert in biochemistry.
Because of Michael's scientific achievements, he was invited to work and to develop his scientific career in the world-famous Pavlov Academic Institute for Experimental Medicine in Leningrad (now known as St Petersburg). His research and studies were highly appreciated and widely published both in Russia and internationally.
While in St Petersburg, Michael also finished his artistic education. Throughout the 1980s, he took courses, participated in master level courses, and studied under the mentorship of several leading artists, including Mark Smirnov, Irina Bruni, and others from the St Petersburg Academy of Arts and the St Petersburg Theatre and Cinematography University.
During the 1980s, Michael worked as a set and costume designer for a number of the leading theatres in St Petersburg: the Komissarzhevsky Theatre, the Leninsky Komsomol Theatre, and the Experiment Theatre.
During the later part of the 1980s, Michael was for several years deputy director and chief set and costume designer for the very successful and popular Narodny Dom (the People's House) Theatre.
Michael has authored sets and costume design for both Russian and the world's classical and modern plays. Michael was responsible for the set and costume design for one of the Narodny Dom's best known and highly acclaimed trade-mark productions, Playing the King, which has been awarded with several highly acclaimed international prizes:
This performance went on a charity tour to Finland in the beginning of the 1990s and was the first charity performance by any Russian theatre abroad.
At the end of the 1980s, Michael moved to Finland with his wife Inna Rogatchi, who is also an internationally well-known writer. They have both become Finnish citizens and are now members of the Jewish congregation in Turku.
Michael has worked quite actively as a graphic artist and is the author of many internationally acclaimed art posters, among those are the ones he has made exclusively for special performances in memory of Vladimir Vysotsky (Helsinki, Finland, 1989), and for such stars as Maurice Bejart (1990), Paul McCartney (1993), and others.
Michael has authored several successful book covers for the leading publishing houses in Finland (1995, 1997, WSOY).
Throughout the 1990s, Michael concentrated his artistic skills on oil paintings and by the year 2004, he had held his own and been a part of 25 exhibitions both in Finland and abroad.
Among these exhibitions was a very special one: The Jewish Way, a joint project with the Espoo Theatre in the middle of the 1990s. In the history of Finland, it was the first exhibition of Jewish paintings in Finland.
Together, Inna and Michael Rogatchi founded the well-known international cultural charity: Arts Against Cancer (AAC), whose honorary chairman was Mstislav Rostropovich. Among the members of this charity and its active supporters were Maurice Bejart, Sir Paul and Linda McCartney, Vladimir Spivakov, the Queen of Denmark, Barbara Bush, and many other distinguished public figures worldwide.
During the period 1995-1996, in The National Artist Event in the United Kingdom, Michael was elected as the only foreign artist from 70 participants to be a finalist and was then awarded with a special diploma by a highly selective panel of judges that included such renowned artists as: RB Kitaj, head of the Tate Museum; Nicolas Serota; and others. Michael was also awarded a special diploma by The Ben Uri Jewish Culture Society for his works.
During the period 2001-2002, the selection committee of the Museum of Jewish Arts in London selected two of Michael's Jewish paintings (Family Supper and Caprice molto perpetuo) for the Museum's permanent collection.
During the period 2002-2003, Michael was a finalist and awarded a special diploma by the International Annual Picture Fair and Exhibition, London (among the patrons of the event and members of the Judges' Panel was Lord Lloyd-Webber).
Since 2003, Michael has been involved in his personal world tour entitled: Dream, Memory, Love, which will take place from 2004-2007, cover more than 20 countries, and include more than 40 exhibitions (showing up to 65 oil paintings, graphic works, books, albums, posters, prints, etc.).
In late 2003, Michael Rogatchi published his art book: Shadows of White, which contains a long and profound essay by the artist as well as many reproductions of his works of art. In connection with the publication of this album of Michael's works, the late Simon Wiesenthal wrote to Michael saying: 'I am glad that there are people like you who will continue to remind people.' Today, Michael's book has been widely acclaimed and is to be found in many libraries all over the world - Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Israel, Italy, Belgium, UK, France, Spain, USA, Russia, Ukraine, etc.
Since 2004, the Rogatchi family has concentrated its charity work through the newly created: Inna and Michael Rogatchi Foundation, which focuses on the promotion and support of our educational, historical and spiritual heritage.
In 2004, Michael was invited to participate in the coming United Kingdom International Artists' Award Event and Final Exhibition in London, which awards the International Artist of the Year Award. Also, the selection committee of the Ben Uri Art Gallery and Museum asked for Michael's works to participate in the annual Picture Fair and Exhibition, an important art event each year in London.
In both 2004 and 2005, Michael was an invited artist and special guest for the International Jerusalem Movie Festival, Jerusalem, Israel. During the same period of time, he was a special guest of honor and donator to the City of Jerusalem, Municipality and the Culture Committee of the Municipality of the City of Jerusalem. He was also a special guest of honor and donator to the Yad Vashem Museum, in connection with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.
Today, Michael Rogatchi's paintings belong to museums, institutions and private collections all over the world - Finland, Russia, Israel, United States, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic, Sweden, Estonia, Ukraine, etc. His paintings were selected for the Ben Uri Gallery and for the London Jewish Museum of Art; one belongs to the Municipality Art Collection of the City of Jerusalem and is on permanent exhibition there; one belongs to Simon Wiesenthal, founder of the Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna; one belongs to the Culture Centre of Krakow; one belongs to The Prague Times, the largest English-language newspaper in Prague; and others belong to many other distinguished institutions and private collections.
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