Boris Chetkov: Portraits
A Hoffman Art Institute Exhibition, Art Bastion, Miami 2015 1
Boris Aleksandrovich Chetkov Борис Александрович Четков 1926-2010
Front Cover: Male Head Muzhskaya golova 1982 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 16.54” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
Boris Chetkov: Portraits February 19 - March 21, 2015 A Hoffman Art Institute Exhibition www.hoffmanartinstitute.org
Curated by Art Historian Rosie Rockel with essay, ‘The Reluctant Radical’ Article by Creative Director Nico Kos Earle, ‘A Collector’s Responsive Eye’ Hosted by Art Bastion 2085 NW 2nd Avenue, #104 Miami, Florida www.artbastion.com
The Hoffman Art Institute
©2015 The Hoffman Art Institute LLC Published and copyrighted by The Hoffman Art Institute LLC, Nichols Hills, Oklahoma. All reproduction rights granted courtesy of The Hoffman Art Institute LLC and/or Pushkin Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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FOREWORD Letter from Our Founder Welcome to The Hoffman Art Institute and into the world of Russian artist Boris Chetkov. Upon discovering this great artist almost nine years ago, I had no idea that I would be so fortunate as to have such an extensive collection of his masterpiece paintings. During this fascinating journey to acquire these special works, I have often asked myself, why? The answer continues to be the same; Boris Chetkov is not only a brilliant artist, but his paintings challenge me emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually every day. He paints in a manner that combines Peter Hoffman, Jr.
beauty, intelligence, movement, and color, suggesting a belief that all things are interconnected and part of a great whole.
Wonderfully, each of you will experience Chetkov in your own way. For me, his paintings are deeply intuitive and alive with luminosity and color. They seem to vibrate with an irrepressible inner spirit, suggesting something new and relevant each day. There is a rhythmic and continuous dynamic flow in Chetkov’s art, one which I also see in the world around me. His paintings, regardless the subject matter, introduce a sense of both possibility and potentiality with each work, the outcome of which is influenced by thought and choice of action. In addition, amazingly, Chetkov is able to present a scene in a manner that reflects a state of being and becoming, all at the same time. How great is that! As you now visit the Boris Chetkov: Portraits Exhibition and begin to discover the wonder of Chetkov’s fantastical mind, be prepared for the experience of a lifetime. Many of the paintings you are about to view have never before been seen by the general public, as they have come directly from the private collection of Boris and Luda Chetkov. With each beautiful creation, Boris Chetkov invites you to participate in his own private world. I hope you enjoy the experience. Peter Hoffman, Jr. Founder-The Hoffman Art Institute www.hoffmanartinstitute.org
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Contents Foreword: Letter from our Founder 2 A Collector’s Responsive Eye 4-7 Nico Kos Earle The Reluctant Radical 8-24 Rosie Rockel Exhibited Works 1960s
A White Horse, 1960, 20.50 x 31.63, acrylic on panel Tramps and Democracy-Actors, 1962, 19.69 x 27.56, oil, tempera on panel Female Portrait, 1965, 29.53 x 21.65, acrylic on canvas Portrait, 1966, 19.69 x 15.75, tempera on panel Male Portrait, Eye of the Falcon, 1969, 25.59 x 18.31, acrylic on canvas
9 10 13 14 17
1970s
Female Portrait, 1970, 19.69 x 15.75, oil, tempera on board Male Portrait, 1970, 19.69 x 13.78, oil on panel Composition, Music, 1970, 31.50 x 19.69, acrylic on panel Female Portrait, 1972, 20.00 x 16.00, oil on panel Landscape, 1972, 19.69 x 27.56, acrylic on panel Portrait of a General, 1975, 27.56 x 19.69, acrylic on canvas On a White Horse, 1976, 15.75 x 19.69, acrylic on canvas Male Portrait, 1977, 19.69 x 15.75, oil/tempera on cardboard Woman in Headdress, 1977, 11.00 x 7.00, gouache on paper Their Highnesses, 1978, 27.56 x 19.69, tempera on cardboard I am a General, 1979, 29.33 x 25.30, acrylic on canvas
18 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
1980s
Portrait, 1980, 31.50 x 19.69, acrylic on panel Prophet and the Jester (Cherfin), 1980, 31.50 x 23.62, oil on canvas Composition, 1982, 19.69 x 27.56, acrylic on panel Male Head, 1982, 19.69 x 16.54, acrylic on panel Female Portrait, 1987, 25.79 x 18.90, acrylic on canvas Male Portrait, 1987, 19.69 x 15.75, oil on canvas Self-Portrait in a Top Hat, 1987, 19.69 x 15.75, acrylic on panel Female Portrait, 1988, 25.98 x 18.90, acrylic on canvas Armed Man, 1989, 27.75 x 20.50, acrylic on panel
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
1990s
In Love, 1990, 27.56 x 19.69, acrylic on panel
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List of Exhibited Works 43 Acknowledgements 44
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A COLLECTOR’S RESPONSIVE EYE On a fresh May morning in 2006, Peter Hoffman,
on: Self Portrait in a Top Hat (See page 39). Painted in
Jr. and his wife Susan were meandering up Canyon
1987 by the Russian artist Boris Chetkov, it threw
Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico, quietly absorbing
a kaleidoscopic gauntlet down at Peter’s feet and
colors and forms pitched against each other in the
seemed to say, “I see you – do you see me?” What was it about Chetkov that grabbed Hoffman
row of gallery windows.
when so many other artists had not? He explains,
Walking past the Pushkin Gallery something vivid caught the corner of Peter’s eye. Colors so
“I had always been seriously attuned to fine art, and
dynamic that captured his mind so fully, he stopped
had amassed a large collection of mainly American
in his tracks. He found himself face to face with
Impressionists. These pieces were beautiful but
the most arresting piece of art he had ever laid eyes
increasingly I found myself disengaging with them. With Chetkov, for the first time in my life, I was looking at a painting that seemed to contain the entire spectrum of what a great painting could be – it was beautiful and visceral, thoughtful in composition and fluid in movement, it was skillful and intuitive and seemed to contain a unique vision of the world that was both private and connected to the deepest themes of human spirituality. It almost demanded me to engage with it. Chetkov recalibrated everything for me.”
A Walk 1992-1993
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It was love at first sight. A connection beyond language, of profound understanding, like meeting the magus who articulates all the things you know to be true but remain unspoken. In this moment, collector and artist found each other, and although they never met, began a unique relationship through art. “Clearly I was looking at a portrait, but I was also having a dialogue with it, and that really threw me. It was so vivid and communicated his sense of self so clearly
Cathedral of Vasili of Caessaria 1994-1995
that it was like speaking without talking. Intelligence
others.” Peter Hoffman, Jr.
and understanding just screamed off the canvas,
Sometimes it just takes one person to really
evidencing inner strength coupled with a wry sense
understand an artist, to change the way the whole
of humor and independence of thought. When you
world sees them, like Vollard’s comprehension of
look at that painting you see an artist self-validating,
Chagall and Louisine Havemeyer’s love for Degas.
so poignant within the context of communism and
Or, take Sergei Shchukin’s championing of Matisse.
artistic oppression, making a simple statement:
Starting in 1906, Shchukin bought 37 of Matisse’s
“I am!” In that one painting, Chetkov established
works including Harmony in Red (1908). Matisse may
himself as a rare creative spirit governed by his
have revolutionized the art world by liberating color
own music and not the external notes played by
from form, but at the time it was said, “One madness
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painted them and another madness paid for them.”
first meeting, Peter Hoffman had the overwhelming
In 1918, the collector and his family fled Russia
feeling that yes, indeed it could.
and his art collection was divided between the State
On that weekend in 2006, Kenneth Pushkin,
Hermitage Gallery in St Petersburg and the Pushkin
appreciating Peter Hoffman was a serious collector,
Museum of Fine Art in Moscow, two galleries
invited him into the gallery’s vaults and revealed a
Chetkov knew well.
treasure trove of works from Boris Chetkov, who
“Just how powerful is art?” Simon Schama asks
was still living in Russia. Before him was a virtual
in his probing documentary series for the BBC, The
lifetime body of work, and as such it presented
Power of Art. “Can it feel like love or grief? Can it
a rare opportunity. As Pushkin proceeded to tell
change your life, can it change the world?” In that
the story of Chetkov and his subsequent discovery of Chetkov’s paintings, Hoffman’s eye wandered over the vivid work, trying to make sense of the find. Several questions presented themselves to Hoffman. Firstly, how was it possible that someone living in such a difficult and challenging environment for much of his life could paint like that? The answer lay before him, represented in the large number of highly achieved and resolved paintings. They suggested not only great intellect and talent but also
Lilac Day 2000
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a phenomenal work ethic, independence and an
highlight fluent and dynamic brush strokes that gave
irrepressible creative spirit. Additionally, he wanted to
the painting depth. Suggestive of modern masters
know how it was possible that Chetkov had remained
before him, referencing Klee’s blocks of balancing
relatively unknown.
color and Picasso’s distortion of features, Chetkov’s
Ultimately, and perhaps most importantly,
piece is less controlled, lacking overt statements of
Hoffman began to consider what it was about
any school, created with a unique internal coherence.
Chetkov’s paintings that gave them such magnitude,
For Chetkov the essence of a subject, and how one
power, depth and relevance, surpassing anything he
experiences it in that moment, is more important
had previously encountered. Hoffman felt that these
than any specific rendering or exact likeness. He was
were not only great paintings, but also seemed to
trying to authentically express the complex nature of
suggest a philosophy for living, one that might be
something. Hoffman acquired four paintings by Boris
applied to real life. The works transcended cultural, geographical, and political boundaries, each one
Chetkov from the Pushkin Gallery that first weekend:
unique, alive and beautifully painted, inviting the
Self Portrait in a Top Hat, 1987; A Walk, 1992-1993;
viewer to engage in the endless scope of Chetkov’s
Cathedral of Vasili of Caessaria, 1994-1995; and Lilac
creativity. They touched upon an innate, profound,
Day, 2000. This initial acquisition seemed to encompass
even mystical understanding of the energy and interconnectedness of all things. Self Portrait in a Top Hat characterized all that
the depth and breadth of Chetkov’s virtuosity, representing most of his major themes (portraiture,
perfectly. The red line of crimson on his brow,
equine art, landscape, genre and still life), mastery of
powerfully supported by the cobalt blue in his
color and dynamic composition. This remarkable group of paintings triggered
eyes and imposing nose; the playful balance of peach and mint green in the top hat; the blocks of
in Peter an intensive nine-year mission to acquire
yellow, both a part of his face and of its surround,
specific works that would represent in their totality
demonstrate the intuition and skill of a great colorist.
a comprehensive catalogue of Chetkov’s artistic
Black accents and suggested outlines balance the
trajectory and development. Nico Kos Earle
compositional color without confining the face and
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The Reluctant Radical This essay considers the career of an artist
At first glance a solitary dreamer, the portraits of Boris Aleksandrovich Chetkov (1926-2010)
working entirely outside the sphere of Soviet
reveal the innovation and tenacity with which he set
official art and the now-established sphere of Soviet
about his craft. They represent just one captivating
unofficial art, yet whose work reflects the remarkable
facet of a wide-ranging body of work that remains
times in which he lived. It will consider the role
largely unstudied. A Russian, Chetkov lived and
artistic isolation played in his development, focusing
worked in the Soviet Union through some of the
on the conditions that produced an artist like
most tumultuous periods in 20th century history. He
Chetkov and the environment that allowed him, in an
painted from the beginning of Khrushchev’s Thaw
oblique manner, to flourish. We shall focus here on
of the late 1950s and 1960s, through the Stagnation
a range of his portraits primarily made from the start
of the 1970s, to glasnost, perestroika, the dismantling
of his mature work, in 1960, up to the incipient fall
of the Soviet Union, the wild years of the 1990s that
of the Soviet Union in 1988. Close scrutiny of these
followed, up to the turn of the millennium and the
works will prove them to be comparable to those of
ardent capitalism that emerged from the ashes of
his renowned dissident artist contemporaries.
socialism. Chetkov painted with striking consistency,
Chetkov found recognition only in his 70s.
his output remaining high despite being forced to
After the fall of the Soviet Union he was able to
keep his art secret for much of his working life.
participate in various group exhibitions and he
There are approximately 1300 known paintings,
found his first major patron in Peter Hoffman Jr,
alongside several hundred drawings and countless
through the American dealer Kenneth Pushkin, of
more glass artworks he made working at a glass
Russian descent, who marketed his works in the
factory near Novgorod; a colorful and sprawling
USA. Chetkov was an exception, working alone
oeuvre that presents a rich bounty for Russian art. 1
and in secret for most of his career, set apart from
1 A catalogue raisonnee is as yet incomplete. Part of Chetkov’s oeuvre, however, remains in possession of his fourth wife, Lyudmila Chetkov. His dealer, Kenneth Pushkin, also holds many works, and can be credited with Chetkov’s successful introduction to the American market. There are several notable American collections, the most sizeable of which forms the core of the Hoffman Art Institute in Oklahoma City, founded by Peter Hoffman, Jr. 2 A notable exception is the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. In 1994 Chetkov met Ernst Fuchs (b. 1930) the leader and main proponent of the school. He was deeply enthralled by Fuchs and in his late years declared himself a fantastic realist and head of the St Petersburg chapter of Fantastic Realism. See: Mikhailova, I., Filosofsko-metodologicheskii analiz iskusstva fantasticheskogo realizma (na primere tvorchestva Borisa Chetkova) [A Philosophical and Methodological Analysis of the Art of Fantastic Realism (through the work of Boris Chetkov)], St Petersburg (B&K, 2005)
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A White Horse [Russian title unknown] 1960 Acrylic on panel 20.50” x 31.63” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
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Tramps and Democracy-Actors Bomzhi i demokratiya [or] PlayActors Litsidyei 1962 Oil, tempera on panel 19.69” x 27.56” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
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any particular school or movement. 2 Such late-
impression of his later years sketchy. 4 At the time of
career acceptance speaks of many years working
writing, few factual details stated by Chetkov have
unencumbered by the pressure of satisfying
been corroborated with external sources and the
a market, leaving him at liberty to work in an
resulting document, while ultimately revealing, must
astonishing diversity of styles, weaving a tapestry of
be treated gingerly. A sense of Chetkov’s character
influences into his works in an apparently incidental
does coalesce from the biography and interview,
manner. Chetkov’s art rarely makes explicit reference
however. Pushkin asserts that in life Chetkov was
to his own actuality nor engages with topical
a most kind and unassuming man, whereas on
concerns, addressing instead more fundamental,
paper he seems to have been a difficult individual;
universal ideas.
a pattern of disputes and rejections emerges, many
Although he died very recently, sources on
of which are not fully explained, and a sense of
Chetkov’s life are scanty. The best source of
persecution permeates the texts, although it is
biographical information is the transcript of an
unclear the extent to which Chetkov was actually
interview in 2009 with an unnamed interlocutor, in
persecuted or simply felt victimized. 5 This negative
which Chetkov tells his life story in a perambulatory,
impression is in direct contrast to the sense of self-
if lively, manner, and a short autobiography written
belief and self-determination that radiates from the
in 2004.3 The autobiography is oddly weighted
interview. Chetkov states, ‘Ever since I was four,
towards the first eight years of his life; it seems
I took an interest in drawing. [...] Later at school
Chetkov placed extraordinary significance on this
I drew and painted, people told me: “you are an
period. In contrast, the last decades of Chetkov’s life
artist!”’6 His dedication to becoming an artist was
are covered in just a few pages of script, making the
remarkable; he surmounted enormous obstacles to
See: The Chetkov Papers: Autobiography and Interview, The Pushkin Group Ltd. (Santa Fe, © 2014) Chetkov married four times and mentions these relationships only very briefly in passing. It would be hasty, however, to place undue importance on this as the interviewer is not identified and Chetkov may have felt it inappropriate to discuss his personal relationships with a stranger. 5 See: Crawford, H., ‘Interview with Kenneth Pushkin’, the Hoffman Art Institute Magazine, (Spring 2015), http://www.hoffmanartinstitute.org/articles/interview-with-kenneth-pushkin/1 6 [Я с четырёх лет занимался... занимался рисо-ванием [...] а потом я после этого в школе рисовал, там тоже говорили: Ты художник!], The Chetkov Papers, pp. 90-91 3 4
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pursue an artistic education, which, once achieved,
several years he hardly painted, until perestroika was
paled to the devotion, time and expense needed to
underway and he zealously picked up his brushes
produce so much work unofficially.
once more, becoming a full-time artist once the Soviet Union collapsed and continuing to paint until
Chetkov was born into a peasant family in the
his death in 2010.
village of Novaya Lyalya near the Ural Mountains
In Chetkov’s youth, art meant Socialist Realism,
on 26 October, 1926, and delighted in recalling his happy childhood. His early years were unmarred
the only tolerable form of art in the Soviet Union
by the worst of the Stalinist purges and ruthless
under Stalin’s dictatorship. Allegorical, intelligible
collectivization that would eventually catch up with
and relentlessly positive, it left little room for artistic
his family, forcing them to relocate several times.
experimentation or individual interpretation. Despite
Chetkov’s turbulent first decades as an adult -
this, a series of fortuitous circumstances lead to
including a stint in the Gulag and conscription into
Chetkov enjoying as liberal an artistic education as
a tank regiment at the end of the Second World
one could hope for in the Soviet Union, one that,
War, followed by a long illness - meant that he was
no doubt, contributed to his highly expressionistic
almost 40 before he graduated in applied arts from
and unregimented style that is entirely unlike official
the Mukhina School of Arts in Leningrad (now St
Soviet art. Stalin’s death in 1953, just after Chetkov
Petersburg) in 1966 and started producing what can
had enrolled in art college in Leningrad, heralded a
be considered mature work. From 1967 Chetkov
more open era for Soviet culture under Khrushchev
worked as Chief Glass Artist at Glass Factory in
and a flowering of Soviet ‘unofficial art’ by dissident
Bolshaya Vishera, near Novgorod, making decorative
artists. It should be noted that ‘unofficial art’ is an
glass art and painting clandestinely in his spare time.
umbrella term, rather than referring to a cohesive
After a change of management, Chetkov reluctantly
movement, and denotes any art that did not directly
left the glass factory in 1979 and taught glass art. For
comply to Soviet ideology, regardless of style,
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7 It is interesting to note the similarity of Chetkov’s description of his bucolic childhood with those of Russian avant-garde titans Wassily Kandinsky and Marc Chagall. All three emphasize the influences of the rhythm of village life, the prevalence of orthodox or Hebrew imagery and the patterns of traditional folk-art on their mature work. See: Chagall, M., My Life, Boston (Da Capo Press, 1994); Kandinsky, W., Izbrannye trudy po teorii iskusstva [Selected Works on Artistic Theory], Moscow (Gileya, 2001)
12
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1965 Acrylic on canvas 29.53” x 21.65” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
13
Portrait Portret 1966 Tempera on panel 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
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content, or politics (or lack thereof). The principle
brought him under the wing of critic and pedagogue
chronology of Soviet unofficial art from this time
Vladimir Eifert (1884-1960), a native German
is well documented, so will not be recounted here,
exiled to the same town. Eifert had been director
but it is useful to consider the words of American
of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, member of
scholar John Bowlt on its development: ‘If artists
the Society of Moscow Artists, the Soviet Artists’
were nurtured on the principles of Socialist Realism
Union and the Zhar-Tsvet or ‘Heat-Color’ group of
and were surrounded by the omnipresent mechanism
avant-garde artists in Moscow in the 1920s. Eifert,
of Party propaganda, how did they learn about
an excellent symbolist painter himself, had organized
“bourgeois formalism” and “abstract art?”’ He then
exhibitions including many true innovators of the
answers; ‘One was the slow but sure rediscovery of
avant-garde, such as Ilya Sokolov, Konstantin
the avant-garde of the 1910s and 1920s; the other
Bogaevskiy, Kuz’ma Petrov-Vodkin, Maksimilian
was the sporadic encounter with contemporary
Voloshin and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. Eifert took on
Western culture.’8 Chetkov was exposed to and
just two private students at a time, who spent long
influenced by both these currents.
hours under his instruction. Chetkov leaves little
After returning from the war to rejoin his
doubt in his interview, using typically Soviet allusive
family in Novaya Lyalya, Chetkov’s father relocated
language, that Eifert effectively denounced the
the family to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, in search of
current regime, attempting to give his two students
work. It was there that Chetkov first brushed up
a full, uncensored history of art, enlightening
against Russian avant-garde art. A chance meeting
them to avant-garde techniques and theories and
Bowlt, J. E., ‘Art’, Modern Russian Culture, Cambridge (CUP, 1998), p.240 [То есть вот все вот эти теории, которые я уже потом, будучи... учился уже в учебных заведениях, я это даже не слышал. [...] Он очень много говорил. То, что он... настолько он всё это... ну, вот два человека, понимаешь? Вот он нам всё это доносил... доносил как бы это... серьёзно это... а... без всяких посредников, никакая аудитория там.], The Chetkov Papers, p. 100 10 [Первое, что он сказал, что художники должны себя вести совершенно свободно и относиться к своей профессии очень серьёзно. То есть мы должны приходить в белых рубашках с галстучком. И в костюме. И писать, говорит, заниматься живописью. То есть вести себя, как интеллигенты настоящие. Ну, значит, началась учёба с изучения, откуда началась живопись. То есть, короче говоря, всю историю, то, что он... с чего начиналось... он нам всё это рассказывал. И показывал на репродукциях и книги. Потому что у него много было, около пяти тысяч только одних репродукций.], The Chetkov Papers, p. 29 11 [Я настолько был увлечён этим, что для меня ничего такого не существовало.], The Chetkov Papers, p. 29 8 9
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showing them photographs of modernist works
illness brucellosis forced him to withdraw from the
and exhibitions and other ephemera relating to his
Tavrichesky School of Art and return to his parent’s
former life. In this remote outpost in Kazakhstan,
home, then in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).
Eifert must have seemed impossibly cultured and
There he enrolled into the Sverdlovsk School of
exotic. He evidently deeply affected Chetkov, who
Arts, where he studied under Fedor Shmelev (1899-
described the experience:
1991). Like Eifert, Shmelev had been a member of
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the Society of Moscow Artists before it disbanded in
First of all, he said, artists are creative workers and thus they should be completely free and they
1928, and the two men would have been personally
should treat their work very seriously. That meant we
acquainted. Although Chetkov does not mention
had to come to him in white shirts and suits and ties.
it, it was perhaps this connection, or Eifert’s
Thus we did our paintings. We had to behave like
personal recommendation, that spurred Shmelev
truly cultured people. [...] We learned the whole story
into choosing Chetkov as a private tutee. It is likely
about everything – he told us everything. And he also
that Shmelev, an erstwhile formalist in the epicenter
showed us reproductions in books. He had so many
of the explosion in Russian art in the 1910s and
books, with maybe five thousand reproductions.
1920s, would have supported Eifert’s endeavors
10
Chetkov devotedly studied under Eifert’s
- knowingly or otherwise - by introducing certain
direction for three years, saying of this time that
distinctly un-Soviet, and perhaps openly formalist,
he was ‘so enthralled, nothing else existed for
ideas to the eager student before him. Chetkov’s
me.’ For all his later years at art school, it was this
mature portraits bear witness to this, for he chose to
progressive, intensive education from a member of
depict complex, distorted figures who present a stark
the pre-revolutionary intelligentsia that made the
contrast to the honed physiques and even features
deepest impact on his artistic development.
of the idealized Soviet man and woman of state-
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sanctioned Socialist Realism. His works consistently
Following Eifert’s advice, Chetkov went to
call up expressionism, fauvism and European
study in Leningrad, but a cruel bout of the rare
12 Gilburd, E., ‘The Revival of Soviet Internationalism in the Mid to Late 1950s’, The Thaw: Soviet Society and Culture during the 1950s and 1960s, eds. Kozlov, D., Gilburd and E., Toronto (University of Toronto Press, 2013), p. 386
16
Male Portrait, Eye of the Falcon Portret muzhskoy sokoliniy glaz 1969 Acrylic on canvas 25.59” x 18.31” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
17
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1970 Oil, tempera on board 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
18
modernism as their clearest reference points,
Vladimir Nemukhin visited the European abstract
revealing a more than superficial awareness of these
art exhibit with his wife, the artist Lydia Masterkova,
then banned movements.
and described its effect, ‘When I saw all that, I just
Let us now turn our attention to Bowlt’s
went dumb, I couldn’t speak. [...] We went back
second avenue of inquiry, ‘sporadic encounter
together to the village, a hundred kilometer trip,
with contemporary Western culture’. There are
in silence, we were so immersed in what we had
two main events that would have brought Chetkov
seen.’14 The second event to bring Chetkov eye-
an awareness of, if not direct contact with,
level with Western culture was the Exhibition of
contemporary Western art. The first was during The
American Painting and Sculpture organized by the
6th Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow
Archives of American Art, held in Moscow in 1959.
in 1957, when the Soviet Union opened its doors
This was the first public showing in the Soviet
to the world for the first time, marking the start of
Union of abstract expressionist works by Jackson
Khrushchev’s Thaw. The festival, which welcomed
Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Georgia O’Keefe.
foreign visitors, attracted 34,000 visitors from across
Many non-conformist Soviet artists - such as Ernst
Russia and the Soviet Republics and included the
Neizvestny, Nemukhin and Masterkova - credit it
first exhibition of post-War European abstract art
with a transformation in their own art. 15 Russian art
in the Soviet Union. 12 It was one of Khrushchev’s
historian Andrei Erofeev confirms that ‘At the turn
first relaxations of the restrictive political regime,
of 1950s-1960s interest in abstract art became almost
the beginning of a program of reform that led to a
a cultural epidemic. Almost all the young artists went
temporarily more permissive atmosphere and a new
through it.’ 16
generation of talented, creative individuals across the
In his short biography, Chetkov does not
cultural spheres: (a generation still known in Russia
mention whether he visited these exhibitions in
as the ‘shestidesyatiki’people of the 1960s). The artist
person; he was studying in Sverdlovsk at the time.
13
Erofeev, Andrei, ex. cat. Breaking the Ice: Moscow Art 1960s-1980s, London (Saatchi Gallery, 2012), p. 18 Erofeev, p. 29 15 ibid 16 Erofeev, p. 30 13 14
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He could not, however, have avoided the huge
and aforementioned abstractionists Neizvestny,
fanfare they incited or the reproductions of exhibits
Nemukhin and Masterkova, to a great extent,
plastered across Soviet newspapers. Nemukhin’s
found patronage by way of their location and social
breathless description of seeing Western art for the
connections. 17 A great number of nonconformist
first time reveals the artistic deprivation suffered by
artists were based in or near Moscow, with a small
this first generation to grow up in the Soviet Union,
but significant number, chiefly lead by Aleksandr
having known only the one-track dogma of Socialist
Arefiev, based in Leningrad. Chetkov, working and
Realism. It is not easy, at a distance of 50 years,
studying primarily in the provinces, lacked these
to appreciate the radicalism of Chetkov’s work for
connections and was never part of the established
its time, yet to him, and to others around him, the
nonconformist scene. To this day, discussion of
non-figurative portraits he made were unlike any art
Soviet unofficial art centers almost exclusively on
he knew and would have seemed heart-stoppingly,
the two capitals and most texts only very briefly
dangerously new.
consider artists working outside these social
Part of what distinguishes Chetkov from his
and geographical parameters. Chetkov is at two
better known contemporaries is that they found
removes: once from official Soviet art, and again
patrons who championed their work, amassing
from the unofficial Soviet art movement. He can be
private collections during the Soviet years which
considered, to borrow Alexander Borovsky’s phrase,
they then exhibited and sold in the new Russia
a ‘twice forgotten’ artist. 18
and abroad. Oleg Tselkov, who painted mask-like
Portraits are a constant in Chetkov’s work,
faces stacked like ghostly shells, Anatoly Zverev,
forming a significant part of his wider oeuvre, but
who tried to capture fleeting instants on canvas,
his prodigious years working at the glass factory
See: Kronik, A., ‘Svoi Krug’ [His Circle], Svoi Krug, Moscow (Iskusstvo XX1 vek, 2010) Borovsky, A., Boris Chetkov: Portraitist, Santa Fe (The Pushkin Group, 2008), p. 17 19 [Стекло – огонь. Это материал завораживает, увлекает, из горячей массы стекла получается произведение, а художник, как колдун, сам себе подвластен.], The Chetkov Papers, p. 169 17 18
20
Male Portrait Muzhskoy Portret 1970 Oil on panel 19.69” x 13.78” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
21
Composition ‘Music’ Kompozitsiya “Muzyka” 1970 Acrylic on panel 31.50” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
22
were a particularly fecund time for portraiture.
elided in favor of granular oil paint in irregular
His time spent teasing shapes from highly colored
geometric shapes, to which a choice line in black is
molten glass by day appears to have had a direct
occasionally added to transform a simple patchwork
effect on the paintings he made by night. He said,
of color into an extraordinarily expressive and
‘Working with glass is enchanting, it carries you
captivating figure. Each portrait seems personal and
away, liberates your fantasy; the artist becomes a
familiar, yet each viewer’s interpretation unique. The
magician when he creates an object from a shapeless
portraits’ broad themes of the self and identity are
hot paste.’ 19 During this period, the size and format
universal but open to individual suggestion. It is the
of Chetkov’s paintings would have been dictated by
interplay of these two components, the intensely
pragmatic concerns as much as artistic vision. Space
personal with universal feelings of human experience
in his apartment was limited and canvases, brushes
that lies at the core of Chetkov’s portraiture. The great plurality of styles, emphasis on color
and paints were a considerable outlay on a Soviet worker’s salary. Painted in isolation, the resulting
and private, internal quality of Chetkov’s work draw
compactness and inherent introspection of his works
an unavoidable comparison with Paul Klee, whose
of the Soviet period imbue them with a particular
small, witty paintings are inexplicably both familiar
subjectivity and concomitant incomprehensibility.
and strange. Chetkov was aware that his adoption
Chetkov’s portraiture moreover reveals the
of many styles at once left him open to criticism,
innovation and rigor with which he set about
but persevered, saying: ‘I tell myself, “This is not
his work, deftly conjuring an image from rough
for an international exhibition or something! So
patches of thickly applied paint to create profoundly
what am I afraid of? Go ahead, put audacity in your
psychological portraits. In these works, detail is
painting!”’20 Chetkov appears to have been averse to
20 [Если я где-то что-то заторможусь, то я себя сразу ловлю на том: А что же я боюсь-то? Я же ведь не на всемирную выставку делаю эту работу! Что я боюсь? Надо смелее писать!], The Chetkov Papers, p. 68 21 [Творчество- это эксперимент. Здесь нет потолка, нет горизонта, и со временем не очень многие стали это понимать.] The Chetkov Papers, p. 167 22 Laird, S., Voices of Russian Literature: Interviews with Ten Contemporary Writers, Oxford (OUP, 1999), p. 190
23
excessive theorizing about his art. He perhaps saw it
underground Soviet intelligentsia during the 1970s
as unnecessary; the years of enforced lack of critical
and 80s, particularly in the work of Sartre and
discourse with critics and other artists rendered
Camus, copies of whose works were passed illegally
him effectively mute and consequently allowed
from hand to hand. 22 It is interesting, then, to find
his paintings to speak more fully for themselves,
an artist who appears to have embodied these beliefs
unclouded by rhetoric. His paintings embody his
intuitively. It appears that for Chetkov, like his
own words: ‘Art should be an experiment, without
forbears Malevich and Klee, non-figurative painting
any set rules. No limits, no horizon; not many
was a vehicle of engagement that, almost like a
understand this.’ 21 Furthermore, one might argue
religious icon, invites the spectator to commune with
that Chetkov’s tendency to impulsively try on new
the work, to consider the self and its many aspects
styles and genres is a direct result of his artistic
in quiet solitude. It seems that, for Chetkov, painting
isolation. A relationship with a market would have
held a transcendental power. Unlike his contemporaries who grappled with
created a mechanism that rewarded for producing works that sold well, a constant tussle for most
the ramifications of abstraction, Chetkov’s primary
artists. Chetkov was free of this battle, allowing him
analysis is not the depiction of form but the state
to dabble and experiment in ways that might spark
of existing. His portraits set him apart through their
anxiety in an artist with an expectant audience.
audacious, innovative use of color and interrogation
Chetkov was an ‘authentic’ artist, in the
of human psychology. Chetkov has, heretofore,
existential sense of the word, in that through his
received little academic attention, but it is hoped
art he was able to transcend his ‘facticity’, doggedly
that in the coming years this enormous, vibrant body
pursuing his vocation alone, without obvious
of work will draw the contemplation it warrants,
reward, during a time when individual difference was
earning him a place in the long and extremely rich
discouraged. The idea of striving for one’s infinite
tradition of Russian art. It is only through studying
freedom of choice in the face of homogenous
these intense, beguiling and sometimes playful works
totalitarianism struck a deep chord with many
that we may glimpse into the complex and radical
dissident Soviet writers and artists. French
mind that created them. Rosie Rockel
existentialism was very much en vogue amongst the
24
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1972 Oil on panel 20.00” x 16.00” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
25
Landscape Peyzazh 1972 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 27.56” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
26
Portrait of a General Portret generala 1975 Acrylic on canvas 27.56” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
27
On a White Horse Na byelom kone 1976 Acrylic on canvas 15.75” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
28
Male Portrait Muzhskoy portret 1977 Oil, tempera on cardboard 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
29
Woman in Headdress [Russian title unknown] 1977 Gouache on paper 11.00” x 7.00” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
30
Their Highnesses Ikh vysochestvo 1978 Tempera on cardboard 27.56” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
31
I am a General Ya, general 1979 Acrylic on canvas 29.33” x 25.30” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
32
Portrait Portret 1980 Acrylic on panel 31.50” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
33
Prophet and the Jester Prorok i shut [signed ‘B. Chetkov (Cherfin)’] 1980 Oil on canvas 31.50” x 23.62” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
34
Composition Kompozitsiya 1982 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 27.56” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
35
Male Head Muzhskaya golova 1982 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 16.54” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
36
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1987 Acrylic on canvas 25.79” x 18.90” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
37
Male Portrait Muzhskoy portret 1987 Oil on canvas 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
38
Self-Portrait in a Top Hat Avtoportret v tsilindre 1987 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
39
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1988 Acrylic on canvas 25.98” x 18.90” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
40
Armed Man [Russian title unknown] 1989 Acrylic on panel 27.75” x 20.50” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
41
In Love Vlyublenniye 1990 Acrylic on panel 27.56” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
42
Exhibited Works
A White Horse [Russian title unknown] 1960 Acrylic on panel 20.50” x 31.63” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.9
Male Portrait Muzhskoy Portret 1970 Oil on panel 19.69” x 13.78” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.21
Woman in Headdress [Russian title unknown] 1977 Gouache on paper 11.00” x 7.00” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.30
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1987 Acrylic on canvas 25.79” x 18.90” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.37
Tramps and Democracy-Actors Bomzhi i demokratiya [or] PlayActors Litsidyei 1962 Oil, tempera on panel 19.69” x 27.56” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.10
Composition ‘Music’ Kompozitsiya “Muzyka” 1970 Acrylic on panel 31.50” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.22
Their Highnesses Ikh vysochestvo 1978 Tempera on cardboard 27.56” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.31
Male Portrait Muzhskoy portret 1987 Oil on canvas 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.38
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1972 Oil on panel 20.00” x 16.00” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.25
I am a General Ya, general 1979 Acrylic on canvas 29.33” x 25.30” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.32
Self-Portrait in a Top Hat Avtoportret v tsilindre 1987 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.39
Landscape Peyzazh 1972 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 27.56” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.26
Portrait Portret 1980 Acrylic on panel 31.50” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.33
Portrait of a General Portret generala 1975 Acrylic on canvas 27.56” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.27
Prophet and the Jester Prorok i shut [signed ‘B. Chetkov (Cherfin)’] 1980 Oil on canvas 31.50” x 23.62” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.34
Armed Man [Russian title unknown] 1989 Acrylic on panel 27.75” x 20.50” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.41
Composition Kompozitsiya 1982 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 27.56” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.35
In Love Vlyublenniye 1990 Acrylic on panel 27.56” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.42
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1965 Acrylic on canvas 29.53” x 21.65” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.13 Portrait Portret 1966 Tempera on panel 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.14 Male Portrait Eye of the Falcon Portret muzhskoy sokoliniy glaz 1969 Acrylic on canvas 25.59” x 18.31” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.17 Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1970 Oil, tempera on board 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.18
On a White Horse Na byelom kone 1976 Acrylic on canvas 15.75” x 19.69” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.28 Male Portrait Muzhskoy portret 1977 Oil, tempera on cardboard 19.69” x 15.75” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.29
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Male Head Muzhskaya golova 1982 Acrylic on panel 19.69” x 16.54” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.36
Female Portrait Zhenskiy portret 1988 Acrylic on canvas 25.98” x 18.90” The Hoffman Art Institute, USA p.40
Acknowledgements The Hoffman Art Institute owes a special debt of gratitude to the many individuals and organizations for their important contributions in making possible this historic exhibition. First, and most importantly, I would like to thank my wonderful wife, Susan for her continued love and support in this bold and ground-breaking endeavor, believing in me regardless of the many challenges. This could not have happened without her. Also, I would like to thank my sons, Alec and Drew and daughter-in-law Rachelle for their love and encouragement throughout the years. Thank you, also, to our Hoffman Art Institute team of committed professionals for seeing the vision and believing in our cause. Special thanks to our Creative Director and Writer, Nico Kos Earle, and Editor and Writer, Hermione Crawford. A heartfelt thank you to our Website Designer, Alex Hunley, who has engineered a beautiful and interesting platform from which to launch all things Chetkov. Thank you to Sam Van Coillie for pioneering in the UK. And critical to our mission, has been the constant hard work and detailed professionalism offered by our unnamed guardian angel. A major debt of gratitude is owed to Rosie Rockel, Art Historian and Broadcaster, for her excellent scholarly essay on Boris Chetkov, entitled The Reluctant Radical, and for curating this first ever Chetkov Portraits Exhibition. Many thanks to Sebastiano Varoli and Art Bastion in Miami for their willingness to host and present this important event. In addition, thank you to the Art Bastion Miami team of Mariana Azpurua and The Dana Agency for their efforts to awaken the world to the genius of Boris Chetkov. The Hoffman Art Institute is also grateful to the following people for their many contributions regarding this important project: Darren Parker and McNeese Stills + Motion for excellence in photography; Bob Allee and Southwestern Stationery & Bank Supply for their excellence in art production, printing and support of the mission; Daren Shepherd for excellence in art layout and design; Eddie Morgan and Terry Wilson of Northern Town for their excellence in film direction, cinematography and truly understanding the essence of our mission; and Irina Miskovsky, Janya Golubeva and Daria Goiran for their enthusiastic support of The Hoffman Art Institute and teaching me more about Russian culture. Thank you to Kenneth Pushkin for discovering this great artist and affording me the opportunity to acquire this collection of rare and magnificant works. Finally, thank you Boris Chetkov for creating these masterpieces, as they have changed my life and profoundly touched us all. Thank you all for these invaluable contributions. Peter Hoffman, Jr. Founder, The Hoffman Art Institute
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To view the entire Chetkov collection and learn more about The Hoffman Art Institute, please visit us at: www.hoffmanartinstitute.org Let us hear from you. Email: hoffmanartinstitute@gmail.com
Quartet 1996 Acrylic on canvas 31.50� x 47.24� The Hoffman Art Institute, USA
Boris Chetkov Boris Chetkov (1926-2010) was an outlier. He was a Russian artist who lived and worked in the Soviet Union through some of the most tumultuous periods in 20th century history. Working alone and in secret for most of his career, he refused to subscribe to any one school or movement, choosing instead to weave a tapestry of influences into a style that was inimitably his own. At first glance a solitary dreamer, Chetkov’s portraits reveal the innovation and rigor with which he set about his work, deftly conjuring an image from rough patches of thickly applied paint to create profoundly psychological portraits. The Hoffman Art Institute presents the first exhibition of Chetkov’s portraits in North America, held at Art Bastion in Miami, Florida. Spanning three decades, Boris Chetkov: Portraits brings together 26 important works from the zenith of his long career. The exhibition includes bold works created during Khrushchev’s Thaw of the 1960s, through his years painting in secret while working officially as a glass artist and up until the more liberal glasnost years of the 1980s. It presents a unique opportunity to see some of Chetkov’s most significant portraits for the first time. Intense, beguiling and sometimes playful, these paintings offer a glimpse into the complex and radical mind that created them, providing an ideal introduction to an artist of swiftly growing renown.
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