Mihail Chemiakin Biography

Moscow, Russia, 1943 -

An established Russian artist, Mihail Chemiakin works as a painter, set designer, and publisher of books and music.

He attended the Repin Academy of Art in Leningrad, but was expelled for failing to conform to Socialist Realist norms. In 1967 he founded the St. Petersburg Group, developing the philosophy of Metaphysical Synthesism. The group was dedicated to the creation of a new form of icon painting based on the study of religious art of all ages and peoples.

Chemiakin later moved, first to France and later to New York City, publishing almanacs of post-Stalinist art, poetry and photography. He continues to publish books and music by under-recognized artists.

He had his first of many exhibitions in post-Communist Russia in 1989.