Post war Abstract expressionist

Western histories of Russian art have traditionally had a tendency to dismiss works after 1932 and the advent of Socialist Realism. The artists of the early twentieth century, in particular the Russian avant-garde, have been the focus of much scholarship. However, recent attitudes have changed…

The discovery of Boris Chetkov is a gratifying moment in the modern artistic life. It seems that the creativity and the very biography of the artist are the purely Russian phenomenon: it is hard for a Western spectator to understand their severe “soviet” context: ordeals of life experienced by the artist…

The Pushkin Group began its ambitious project to promote outstanding Russian artists of the second half of the 20th century on the American art scene several years ago. Artists of note who have not achieved recognition in their own land but all of whom merit an honored place in the history of art…

It was in late 2001 when I was first presented with photos of Chetkov’s paintings. Having spent years studying and appreciating Russian art, I immediately recognized something unique, an unabashed sense of freedom in the artist’s expression — something not often seen from painters of the Soviet Era. This was something different.

Few can be indifferent to the work of Boris Chetkov, a powerful artist whose life has been far from ordinary. The Pushkin Group’s monograph on his life and art continues their exciting project to acquaint the non-Russian world with Russian artists whose work has been unjustly undervalued…