Boris Chetkov was born to paint, with a passion and an unbending desire to show his art to the world. He understood his calling not just with his mind, but with his heart and soul, and he followed his path relentlessly. His career took him from rural Russia, through Stalin's gulag, to the museums of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and famous private collections. He struggled against artistic oppression during the Soviet Era, but was rewarded in the twilight of life with international exhibitions, recognition and success. In his lifetime, Chetkov painted hundreds of canvases in many styles and genres from landscapes and still lifes to portraits, equestrian scenes and abstractions. All of these are generously represented in this volume containing over one hundred of his masterworks, accompanied by Dr. Alexander Borovsky's writings on the artist.
This book accompanied the first major posthumous exhibition of works by Boris Chetkov. The publication presents the artist through the lens of his landscape and genre paintings. The exhibit (by the same name) was the Gala Opening event for ‘Russian Art Week’ in London in November 2013. The vibrant and colorful pictures in this volume will introduce readers to his energetic and wide-ranging oeuvre. Theodora Clarke discusses the artist's life and work and places Chetkov in the context of Modernism and Russian art in the Post War Era. Theodora Clarke is the Founder of the arts magazine, Russian Art and Culture as well as the creator of the annual ‘Russian Art Week’ in London. A renowned curator, art historian and critic on Russian art, she lectures widely on European modernism and the avant-garde artists of the early twentieth century. Theodora studied for her MA in Russian Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art and formerly worked for Christie's Auction House and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Portraits are among the most captivating of subjects that an artist undertakes, often providing as much insight (or more) into the artist as they do of the person being portrayed. Boris Chetkov’s portraits are extraordinary in this respect. In creating the images of these various personalities, real and imagined, Chetkov opened his heart and his mind without reservation or pretense. In the following pages our esteemed reader will see an unprecedented collection of portraits, delve into penetrating psychology of these different characters, and look at the faces of humanity through the eyes of Boris Chetkov. The superb essay by the Head of Contemporary Art at the State Russian Museum, Dr. Alexander Borovsky, featuring biographical insight and excerpts from recorded interviews with Chetkov, presents the colorful story of how this recently discovered genius came to his creative conclusions, clearly placing him in historical context as a spiritual heir of the Russian avant-garde. With the forward by Dr. Albert Kostenevich (Keeper of Impressionist Paintings at the Hermitage) this richly illustrated monograph containing 192 pages with 168 color plates will be a valuable addition to your collection.
With the publication of Boris Chetkov: Across All Barriers, The Pushkin Group continues its series of titles introducing outstanding and unknown Russian artists of the second half of the 20th century. Fortunately, Boris Chetkov did not suffer the almost total oblivion that was the lot of his predecessors, as he has become broadly regarded as one of the most important and distinctly unique innovators of Post War Russian art. A native of St. Petersburg, his works have been exhibited in China, Japan, Germany, Russia, and the United States and are in major collections worldwide. With the forward by Dr. Albert Kostenevich (Keeper of Impressionist Paintings at the Hermitage) and the text by Dr. Alexander Borovsky (Head of Contemporary Art at the State Russian Museum) this richly illustrated monograph containing 242 pages with 215 color plates will be a valuable addition to your collection.
This document is the literal transcription (from Russian and translated into English) of two interviews recorded with Boris Chetkov at his home in Lomonosov, (outside of St. Petersburg, Russia) one in July, 2004 and the other in December, 2009. These documents examine, in the artist’s own words, the biographical experiences and unique philosophy which shaped both Chetkov’s glass production and the renowned paintings so cherished today – providing the rich history of an incredible artist.