Mihail Chemiakin (né en 1943) - Personnages fantastiques et grotesques (Vendu sans prix de réserve)

We present to you this superb original color lithograph on paper depicting a theatrical scene populated by fantastic and grotesque characters by Mihail Chemiakin (born in 1943).

The composition features several figures with deformed proportions, surrounding a small stocky character dressed in blue and yellow. The elongated silhouettes, masked faces and zoomorphic creatures evoke a carnival and commedia dell’arte universe.

The work is signed in pencil “M. Chemiakin” at the bottom right. It is an artist’s proof marked EA at the bottom left.

Title: Fantastic and Grotesque Characters

Technique: Original color lithography on paper

Artist: Mihail Chemiakin (born 1943)

Work size: 51 × 44.4 cm

Frame-inclusive size: 65.5 × 54 cm

Condition: Excellent condition, clean margins and colors well preserved

Mihail Chemiakin is a Russian painter, sculptor and scenographer born in Moscow in 1943. Raised in East Germany and then back in the USSR, he joined the prestigious Academy of Arts in Leningrad from which he was expelled for non-conformism. Facing refusal to conform to Soviet realism, he underwent compulsory psychiatric confinement followed by forced exile in 1971.
He first settled in Paris, where he achieved great success, before moving to New York and then to France, in Touraine. His work, highly symbolic and grotesque, explores the themes of carnival, theater and the human condition through sharp lines. Known for his literary illustrations and collaborations with the world of ballet, he is also the creator of famous monumental sculptures. Among his major works are the monument to Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg and the sculptural group “Children, Victims of Adults’ Vices” in Moscow.