Syosset

Sergey Eylanbekov's acrylic sculpture of human figures pressing their heads and torsos forward, as if straining to break free from the clear, acrylic block encasing them, is itself something of a breakthrough.

His 22-inch sculpture, "Five Continents," has been chosen to be displayed at the Olympic Games in Athens this summer, the only American artist so recognized.

Eylanbekov, a Russian emigre artist who lives in Syosset and teaches drawing part-time at Farmingdale State University of New York, said the selection of his work as the first-place winner in the sculpture category of the International Olympic Committee Art & Sport Contest last month was more than a personal triumph.

"It's more than me. This was a United States entry," Eylanbekov said of his work that competed against entries from 39 countries. "It makes me really feel good the U.S. won, especially in this political climate," he said, alluding to anti-American sentiment in Europe over the American-led invasion of Iraq.

He's also pleased he won recognition from his adopted homeland, the United States, which entered his piece in the international competition. "I think this is the most important part for me," said Eylanbekov, who immigrated to New York in 1989 after, he said, his art studio in Moscow was closed by a regional government in the former Soviet Union, which deemed it unprofitable. He said he became a U.S. citizen in 1997.

Eylanbekov's sculpture won the U.S. Olympic Committee Sport Art competition held in November at the United States Sports Academy's American Sport Art Museum and Archives in Daphne, Ala. The academy also selected Eylanbekov as co-winner of Sport Artist of the Year.

"He's so talented, yet he's so humble," said Bill Steedle, an associate professor and former chair of visual communication at Farmingdale State who hired Eylanbekov last year. "It's wonderful for him, because he's got such varied talent."

Thomas Rosandich, president of the United States Sports Academy, called Eylanbekov "probably the best sculptor using that [acrylic] technique in the U.S."

Eylanbekov's sculpture depicts six figures, the top one symbolizing Greece, the originator of the Olympic Games, while the others are of people from five continents of the world. The five Olympic rings are also in the sculpture.

"What we felt Five Continents did was summarize in an art form the Olympic movement," said Jack Scharr, chairman of the art division of the American Sport Art Museum. He said the sculpture also was striking. "It changes as you walk around it, because you see different reflections of the figures ... It almost comes alive."

"Five Continents" is displayed at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, along with all of the contest entries. The award also comes with a $30,000 prize.

Sitting at the kitchen table in his Syosset home, which he shares with his wife and two young daughters, Eylanbekov, 43, said he felt fortunate to be able to make a living as an artist in a new land.

"The drama is this: When you come here as an immigrant, especially when you are an artist and you're not known here, it's hard to make any kind of living doing art. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that," after a brief stint working in a print shop in New York City when he couldn't speak English. "The point is, I consider myself lucky."