Sergio Ostroverhy (b. 1966) is a prize-winning draughtsman, painter, art teacher, interior designer and translator based in Paris and Seattle. Since he worked as a firefighter (1988), he has first-hand knowledge of the occupation. Beginning in 1979, Ostroverhy undertook extensive training as a painter in academies and colleges in Budapest, Cambridge (Massachusetts), Moscow and Paris. During the 1980s, he produced gouache and acrylic portraits of firemen in an expressionist manner.
His present style is photorealist in character – reminiscent of the work of the American Chuck Close - and he specializes in large-scale, close-up portraits either of individuals or groups of firemen. When painting group portraits depicting whole figures, he pays particular attention to uniforms and equipment, and to the shiny surfaces of helmets.