He was born in 1985 in St. Petersburg in the family of a fine art restorer. From childhood he was brought up in the atmosphere of creativity and beauty. He was taught at art school named after B. V. Ioganson. From 2003 till 2009 he studied at the institute named after I.E. Repin, where he was taught guided by folk artist Eremeev O.A. The diploma painting “The dreams of Childhood” was devoted to the author`s childhood, the careless time when the trees seemed to be large and dreams about future and changes were so distant. This painting is about common children with pure thoughts and high hopes.
   The theme of childhood penetrates the author`s oeuvre. The strongest and the purest impressions, the upbringing of the sense of beauty that influenced Ilya`s world outlook, came from that period. He got inspiration from the artists of Renaissance, who influenced his perception and creativity very much. The game of light and shadows, the profundity of thoughts of represented characters, of accurately found silhouettes and rhythms, of tragedy of plot and its appeasement. He admired the mastery and grace of old masters, their plasticity and delicacy, the sense of taste and measures of beauty. This couldn`t help leaving an imprint in author`s inner world and upbringing of future artist.
   The special place in his creation is devoted to philosophy and to idea, its depth and means of expression, the relations between colour and hue, its symbolism and decorative qualities. The artist is interested in human nature and anima, his destiny and place in life. He pays a lot of attention to the beauty and the infinity of nature, its relationships with people. The artist expresses his feelings to the concrete or imaginary place masterfully. He is excited about changes of elements` spirits and transience of time in nature.
     The Author shows the life of his characters not from outside but from inside, he proves very often that the appearance is deceptive. He is interested in subconscious relations between people, in the wordless conversations, based on feelings and relationships to each other, psychologism and analysis of the current events. Ilya expresses the depth of the world with the means he was taught to during his education and socialization, but he constantly looks for new means of expression. He is not afraid of experiments and bold decisions. He is often inspired by the fine line between beauty and eternity, between gracefulness and chaos, between life and death. He tries to express the light beauty and mannerism of his characters, whatever they are, heroes of myths or his contemporaries, common trees or large clouds. Every object has its soul, character and mood. Every object should be treated and understood in its own way.
   Since 2010 Mr Khokhrin has been the member of the Union of artists of Russia, and annually takes part in exhibitions. Also he is the participant of international exhibitions. The author`s paintings reside at private collections in Russia, China, countries of Europe and the USA. The artist lives and works in St. Petersburg.