RETROSPECTIVE 2014

SERGEI CHEPIK

FRONT COVER: SELF PORTRAIT WITH PETRUSHKA 1989 36 x 30cm (14 x 12") All works are oil or mixed media on canvas unless specified

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Marie-Aude Albert-Chepik and Catto Gallerypresent a major retrospective of paintings by

The Mall GalleriesThe Mall SW1

January-February 2014

SERGEI CHEPIK(1953-2011)

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SERGEI CHEPIK (1953–2011)www.chepik.com

For 20 years, Sergei Chepik—a Russian artist who obtained French citizenship in 1993—was hailed by the Anglo-Saxonpress as “a searing visionary” and “one of the greatest living Russian painters.” Represented in important British, Russian,French, Japanese and American collections, this “unclassifiable” artist painted the portraits of Rudolf Nureyev and MargaretThatcher, and created a set of four monumental canvases for London’s Saint Paul’s Cathedral entitled The Way, The Truth,The Life, inaugurated in January 2005. He worked in Paris and exhibited in London from 1988 until his premature death onNovember 18, 2011.

Born in Kiev in 1953 to an artist-painter father and sculptress mother, Chepik took up painting at the age of five. Admitted toLeningrad’s Ilya Repin Institute (the prestigious St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts before the Revolution), he graduated withflying colours in 1978 and immediately embarked upon his early works, travelling across the Russian heartland and perfectinghis art in the class of Academy member Andrei Mylnikov, himself a pupil of Igor Grabar, one of the theoreticians of the Worldof Art Movement led by Sergei Diaghilev and Alexandre Benois. From his long years of training with such open-minded,demanding masters, Chepik always maintained an obsession for professionalism, a taste for excellence and a respect for theartistic heritage of centuries past.

The House of the Dead (1979-1987), his masterpiece, which was banned from being shown in the Soviet Union, not onlyprompted his voluntary exile to France in 1988, but also won the Grand Prix at the Salon d’Automne the same year. Thefollowing year, his work The Tree (1982-1984) was awarded the Monaco City Award. In 1990, Chepik’s first retrospective inLondon at the Roy Miles Gallery, which consisted of over a hundred works, was an unprecedented success. The Daily Telegraphran the headline “An unknown Russian genius comes to light” and Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at the time, invited him

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to the Houses of Parliament. From then on, Chepik exhibited each year in London, first at the Roy Miles Gallery in Mayfair, andthen from 1997 at the Catto gallery in Hampstead. He presented a retrospective in Paris at the Espace Pierre Cardin in 2004and in Milan where the French Cultural Centre held a large show of religious paintings, a version of which was mounted oncemore at the church in Auvers-sur-Oise as part of the 2010 Franco-Russia Year.

An exceptionally gifted drawer, well-versed in all techniques from watercolour and etchings to oils, ceramic and sculpture, healso mastered all genres, from portraiture in which he excelled to composition which he favoured above all others. He lovedto pit himself against the great masters he admired rather than giving in to the easy temptation of tabula rasa, to go against thetide of official art in the Soviet Union and, after moving to Paris, of so-called “contemporary”, relativistic and nihilistic art in theWest. All his life, Chepik was a free spirit who resisted dogmas and fashions, remained faithful to his artistic creed, and chose topaint both here and there “in season and out of season.”

His themes may have been extremely diverse, but they formed a distinctive and immediately recognisable world. There are thevast historiosophic compositions on Russia in which Chepik never ceased from one painting to the next to ponder over thetragic destiny of his homeland. There are above all the monumental religious paintings, which held a special place for theOrthodox Christian artist that he was. There are also the teeming, phantasmagorical compositions in which his imaginationbursts forth unbridled. But there are also themes that had their origins in his daily life in Montmartre and the numerous tripshe made in France and Europe—Paris and the chimeras of Notre-Dame; Venice and its carnival; Arles and its bullfights, whichhe enthusiastically attended from 1994 onwards; sunflowers in homage to Van Gogh; and finally the world of the performingarts that fascinated him all his life—circuses and acrobats, boxing rings, cabarets and the wings of the Moulin Rouge.

It is this extraordinary world, which is both so personal and so universal, that this first posthumous retrospective enables visitorsto discover or rediscover. It is organised by the Catto Gallery in the vast halls of the Mall Galleries so close to the NationalGallery, where the artist never failed to go each time he was in London. For, let’s note once more that he deliberately followedin the grand tradition of Western art while at the same time making his own contribution, which he knew, without eithermisplaced vanity nor false modesty, to be original and important.

Naturally, certain major works are missing – The House of the Dead (1979-87), the Portrait of Baroness Margaret Thatcher(1993) and of course, his masterpiece The Way, The Truth, The Life (2002-04), whose tragic removal from the walls of SaintPaul’s Cathedral in 2008 broke the heart and spirit of the artist. But, thanks to the generosity of his collectors and English,French and Russian friends, the bulk of his output is there, reuniting all the themes so characteristic of Chepik.

How far he came, visitors will say to themselves, from his first childhood drawings executed in Kiev to the final compositionsof 2011 like Quo Vadis Domine in which the announcement of his death can be clearly read. For Chepik knew his end wasnigh when, physically and morally exhausted, he inaugurated his final exhibition at the Catto Gallery on November 9, 2011 (ashow that presented an overview of his work and acted as a legacy). This is demonstrated by the new monograph, UltimaOpera, the artist’s last works (2008–2011) presented to the public on the occasion of this retrospective.

Chepik was a deeply Christian artist. Just like the good servant of the Gospels, he knew how to exploit the exceptional talentshe received at birth to the best of his ability and also knew that after his death (which was both premature and in keeping witha destiny he foresaw from an early age) he would leave behind a body of work that was unquestionably finished, successfullycompleted and brought to a close.

“Manuscripts don’t burn,” Chepik liked to say, quoting Mikhail Bulgakov, his favourite writer and model, almost his double, whoall his life with courage, willpower and passion had forged an immense body of work that is both deeply personal and universal,in season and out of season with the predominant ideology. Chepik was luckier than his illustrious model, for he was able toexhibit his work during his lifetime, whereas Bulgakov’s masterpieces on the whole remained secret, locked away in his non-conformist, persecuted writer’s table.

“Manuscripts don’t burn… and neither do paintings!” The Sergei Chepik Charity Trust, created on the occasion of thisretrospective, has the sole objective of championing the artist’s memory and serving his magnificent, inspired work through theorganisation of other exhibitions and the publication of works dedicated to Chepik’s art and extremely charismatic personality.

Like many of his Russian compatriots, Chepik was sensitive to certain signs. The order of the prefect making this endowmentfund official is dated August 1, 2013—a quarter of a century to the day after Chepik chose freedom, just like his compatriotNureyev before him, by settling in Paris on August 1, 1988. After a first life in Russia, a second between London and Paris, let’smake a vow that Chepik will henceforth enjoy a third life that will, through this foundation, carry his powerful, generous art tothe four corners of the world.

Marie-Aude Albert-ChepikParis, November 18, 2013 On the second anniversary of Sergei Chepik’s calling into God’s presence.

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THE CIRCUS HAS COME 1978110 x 100cm (43 x 39")

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THEATRICAL PHANTASMAGORIA (DIPLOMA WORK) 1978400 x 400cm (158 x 158")

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CINDERELLA 1982Watercolour on paper44 x 30cm (17 x 12")

THE SWANS 1982Watercolour on paper44 x 30cm (17 x 12")

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RUSSIAN TALE (IVAN DURAK)79 x 79cm (31 x 31")

THE BOAT 198254 x 65cm (21 x 25")

CHRISTMAS AT STARAYA LADOGA 199248 x 59cm (19 x 23")

THE VOLKOV RIVER 198038 x 64cm (15 x 25")

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PLIOS 1985120 x 130cm (47 x 51")

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THE VETERANS 198777 x 200cm (30 x 79")

CRUCIFIXION 1979-87185 x 45cm (73 x 17")

PIETA 1988200 x 55cm (79 x 22")

APOCALYPSE 1987-88185 x 45cm (73 x 17")

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PETRUSHKA 1984-86Mixed media on wood150 x 130cm (59 x 51")

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THE LADY IN VIOLET 1988 (PORTRAIT OF MARIE-AUDE ALBERT)78 x 69cm (31 x 27")

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PORTRAIT OF YURI TROUBIKOFF 198880 x 70cm (31 x 28")

LA PARISIENNE 1988 (PORTRAIT OF MARIE-AUDE ALBERT)29 x 29cm (11 x 11")

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THE LADY IN BLACK 1988 (PORTRAIT OF MARIE-AUDE ALBERT)70 x 90cm (28 x 35")

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FIRST VARIATION ON THE THEME OF THE ODALISQUE BY INGRES 198860 x 73cm (24 x 29")

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BIG CIRCUS 1989130 x 130cm (51 x 51")

THE CIRCUS, THE RIDER 1991110 x 100cm (43 x 33")

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THE YELLOW CIRCUS 1989100 x 100cm (39 x 39")

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TAUROMACHIA 1992110 x 110cm (43 x 43")

THE WINNER (BOXERS 3) 1993130 x 89cm (51 x 35")

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INDOOR FAMILY PORTRAIT 1992100 x 81cm (39 x 31")

SHIP OF HAPPINESS 1992108 x 90cm (42 x 35")

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THE WHITE NIGHTS 1993100 x 100cm (39 x 39")

PROCESSION 1993100 x 100cm (39 x 39")

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THE CHIMERAS OF NOTRE-DAME 199340 x 170cm (16 x 67")

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PONT NEUF 199278 x 148cm (31 x 58")

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SELF PORTRAIT WITH SUNFLOWERS 199490 x 71cm (36 x 28")

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GOLGOTHA 1995-96122 x 107cm (48 x 42")

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ADAM AND EVE 199750 x 50cm (20 x 20")

THE TROJAN WAR 1996162 x 81cm (64 x 32")

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LET THERE BE LIGHT! 199770 x 50cm (28 x 20")

KING LEAR 1997100 x 100cm (39 x 39")

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NIJINSKY, GOD'S CLOWN 1995-9780 x 80cm (32 x 32")38

HOMAGE TO CHAPLIN 199880 x 80cm (32 x 32")

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LA STRADA 2005100 x 73cm (39 x 29”)

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PROCESSION IN SEVILLE 1992-97100 x 100cm (39 x 39")

RUSSIA CRUCIFIED 1999232 x 210cm (91 x 83")

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PORTRAIT OF MARIE-AUDE IN ARLESIAN DRESS 1999-2001Diameter 70cm (28")

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VENICE: CANAL GRANDE 200080 x 80cm (32 x 32")

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HIP HOP 200060 x 60cm (24 x 24")

BEFORE THE CANCAN 200150 x 150cm (20 x 59")

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FRENCH CANCAN 200180 x 80cm (32 x 32")

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BULLS AND BEARS IN THE MARKET 2003102 x 102cm (40 x 40")

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DIOGENES 1998-2002150 x 50cm (59 x 20")

THE STAIRS 1998176 x 60cm (69 x 24")

FERIA (TANGO) 1998-2002150 x 50cm (59 x 20")

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SECOND SKETCHES FOR ST PAUL'S 200347 x 68cm (18 x 27") and 100 x 68cm (39 x 27")

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DREAM OF KINGS 2003130 x 120cm (51 x 47")

DREAM OF KINGS 2 2005154 x 145cm (61 x 57")

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THE PASSION 2004Diameter 120cm (47")

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THE BELLRINGERS 2006200 x 170cm (79 x 67")

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TROCADERO 2005110 x 100cm (43 x 39")

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QUAI DE CONTI 200550 x 200cm (20 x 79")

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THE REDEMPTION 2007110 x 310cm (43 x 122")

THE LAST SUPPER 2007109 x 310cm (43 x 122")

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MONTMARTRE, LA NUIT 200873 x 91cm (29 x 36")

LES ESCALIERS DE MONTMARTRE 200878 x 60cm (31 x 24")

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THE ANGEL OF NOTRE DAME 2008110 x 110cm (43 x 43")

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CARNIVAL IN VENICE 200855 x 200cm (22 x 79")

VENETIAN MIRRORS 200967 x 200cm (26 x 79")

ATLANTIDA 2009130 x 130cm (51 x 51")

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PORTRAIT OF VSEVOLOD MIKHAILOV 200981 x 100cm (32 X 39")

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PORTRAIT OF TATIANA MIKHAILOV 2010120 x 40cm (47 x 16")

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A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM 2 2011175 x 165cm (69 x 65")

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SUNFLOWERS FROM PROVENCE 2009110 x 100cm (43 x 39")

BLACK VENUS 201170 x 210cm (28 x 83")

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MORITURI 2009150 x 150cm (59 x 59")

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THE JOYFUL BICYCLE 2011100 x 100cm (39 x 39")

FINITA LA COMMEDIA 2011130 x 98cm (51 x 38")

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QUO VADIS 2011240 x 250cm (95 x 99")

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SERGEI CHEPIK (1953-2011)CHRONOLOGY

PORTRAIT OF MARIE-AUDE ALBERT-CHEPIK AT HER DESK 201173 x 100cm (29 x 39")

1953 Sergei Chepik is born in Kiev, on June 24, the son ofrenowned painter Mikhail Chepik (1920-1972) andthe sculptress Ludmila Sabaneeva (b.1921), bothmembers of the Union of Artists of the USSR.

1961-1973Studies in Kiev at a secondary school specializing in artsand then two years at the city’s Shevchenko Art Institute. Chepik’s parents divorce. He is raised by his mother,often meeting his father who keeps an eye on hisprogress in drawing and painting.

1973-1978Leaves Kiev, following his father’s death, and isadmitted to the Repin Art Institute in Leningrad (theformer Academy of Fine Arts of Saint-Petersburg),where he graduates with flying colours.Is admitted to the Union of Young Artists.

1978-1980Continues his studies at the Academy in ProfessorMylnikov’s studio and works on his first importantpaintings.Birth of his first son, Serguei, in 1979.“Young Painters” exhibition, Manege, Leningrad (1978).National Exhibition of Diploma works, Manege,Leningrad and Moscow (1979).“Young painters” exhibition, Union of Artists, Leningrad(1980).

1981Prague Biennale.“Russian Painting” exhibition, Tokyo.“Zone 1981” exhibition, Manege, Leningrad.National Exhibition of Young Soviet Painters, Tashkent. Becomes a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.

1982National Exhibition of Young Soviet Painters, Academyof Fine Arts, Moscow and Leningrad.“Russian Painting” exhibition, Osaka and Tokyo. “Petersburg-Leningrad” exhibition, Manege, Leningrad.

1983National Exhibition of Portraits, Union of Artists, Moscow.

1984National Exhibition of Young Soviet Painters,Academy of Fine Arts, Moscow and Leningrad.Exhibition “Soviet Painting Week”, Tokyo.

1985First solo exhibition: “Russian Landscapes”, Union ofArtists, Leningrad.“Soviet Painting” exhibition, Cologne.

1986First solo and retrospective exhibition: “Paintings,graphics and ceramics”, Youth Palace, Leningrad.Meets his future French wife, Marie-Aude Albert.

1987The House of the Dead, his second masterpiece afterPetrushka (1984-1986), is completed, but is bannedfrom being shown in Leningrad.

1988Birth in Moscow of Chepik’s second son, Daniil.Moves to Paris with the help of Marie-Aude Albert,and settles on Boulevard de Picpus.The House of the Dead (1979-1987) is awarded theGrand Prix at the Salon d’Automne in Paris and isbought by the Roy Miles Gallery in London.“Russian Paintings” exhibition, Roy Miles Gallery,London.

1989The Tree (1982-1984) receives the Monaco CityAward at the Monte Carlo International Exhibition ofContemporary Art. Salon de l’Ecole Française, Musée du Luxembourg,Paris.“Russian Paintings”, Roy Miles Gallery, London.

1990 Major solo and retrospective exhibition, Roy MilesGallery, London. Chepik receives public acclaim andthe exhibition is a sell-out. The Daily Telegraph writes:“An unknown Russian genius has come to light”.Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher congratulatesChepik in the House of Commons.

BACK COVER: HOMAGE TO VAN GOGH 1998 116 x 89cm (45 x 35")

Our thanks to all our customers who have kindly loaned their paintings and made this retrospective possible

1991Solo exhibition of watercolours, “Travels throughFrance”, Roy Miles Gallery, London. “Russian Art1930-1990” exhibition, Roy Miles Gallery, London. Chepik brings his mother Ludmila and son Sergueifrom the Soviet Union and installs them near his newstudio in Paris.

1992Chepik marries Marie-Aude Albert.Salon d’Automne, Grand Palais, Paris: Chepikbecomes a “member of the Salon d’Automne”.

1993Major solo exhibition, “New Works”, Roy Miles Gallery,London.Solo retrospective exhibition, Salon de l’Ecole Française,Château de Croissy, France. Solo retrospective exhibition, Prieuré Saint-Maurice,Senlis, France. Paints Baroness Margaret Thatcher’s portrait andfinishes Rudolf Nureyev’s portrait.Salon d’Automne, Grand Palais, Paris. “Christmas Show” exhibition, Roy Miles Gallery, London

1994Solo exhibition, “Recent Works”, Roy Miles Gallery,London. Leaves the Salon d’Automne after disagreementsover policy.

1995Major Solo exhibition, “New Works”, Roy MilesGallery, London. Publication and presentation in London of a firstmonograph: Sergei Chepik, Works, 1970-1994, byMarie-Aude Albert.Salon de l’Ecole Française, Chapelle Saint-Léonard,Croissy, France.

1996 Solo exhibition of watercolours, Roy Miles Gallery,London. Solo exhibition of graphic works, Galerie Guiter, Paris.“Hommage au nu” exhibition, Galerie Guiter, Paris. Salon de l’Ecole Française, Chapelle Saint-Léonard,Croissy.

1997 Solo exhibition, Galerie Guiter, Paris. Final exhibition at the Roy Miles Gallery in London.

1998 Major solo exhibition, “New works”, The CattoGallery, London.

1999Major solo exhibition, “Golgotha”, The Catto Gallery,Cork Street, London, then exhibited at St John’sChurch in Hampstead.Solo exhibition, “Golgotha”, Château de Gruyères,Switzerland. Major solo exhibition, “New works”, The CattoGallery, London.

Retrospective exhibition at the Russian Embassy inLondon with the 1999 masterpiece Russia Crucified.

2000Major solo exhibition, “Chepik in Venice”, The CattoGallery, London. Solo exhibition, Salon de l’Ecole Française, ChapelleSaint-Léonard, Croissy.

2001Major solo exhibition, “Chepik’s Moulin Rouge”, TheCatto Gallery, Cork Street, London. Salon de l’EcoleFrançaise, Chapelle Saint-Léonard, Croissy.

2002Major solo exhibition, “Shows”, Galerie Popoff et Cie,Fbg St Honoré, Paris.“Parfums de Femmes” exhibition, Manège, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. April 24, Chepik suffers a stroke and is found paralysedat his home in Paris, but makes a full recovery. Chepik is invited to exhibit Golgotha at St Paul’sCathedral in London. Russia Crucified exhibits at the Salon d’Automne, Paris.Work begins on four large panels illustrating the Lifeand Passion of Christ for St Paul’s Cathedral inLondon, commissioned by the Dean, the Very RevdDr. John Moses.

2003Solo retrospective exhibition, “Works: 1991-2003”,The Catto Gallery, London. Salon de l’Ecole Française, Chapelle Saint-Léonard,Croissy.Chepik begins work on The Virgin Mary (or TheNativity) and The Resurrection.The Apocalypse of St John is exhibited at the Salond’Automne in Paris.

2004Paints The Public Life of Christ and The Passion.“Masques et Miroirs” exhibition, Manège, Saint-Germain-en-Laye.Salon de l’Ecole Française, Eglise de la Madeleine, Paris.Major retrospective solo exhibition, “War and Peace”,Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris

2005January 24 inaugration of the completed quadriptychcomposition entitled I am The Way, The Truth and TheLife by the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in thepresence of Baroness Thatcher. Solo exhibition, “New Works”, The Catto Gallery, London. Salon de l’Ecole Française, Church of the Madeleine, Paris.

2006Major solo exhibition, “New works”, The CattoGallery, London.Publication and presentation in London of a secondmonograph: Sergei Chepik: From Red Square to theMoulin Rouge, works 1994-2001, by Marie-AudeAlbert. Creation of 40 illustrations for Bulgakov’s novel, TheWhite Guard.

2007New cycle of large religious paintings: TheRedemption, The Last Supper.

2008Major solo exhibition of religious works, “Epifania”,French Cultural Centre, Milan. The Last Supper isexhibited for the first time.Solo exhibition, “Tauromachie”, Chapel of Saint-Anne, Arles.Publication in Petersburg of The White Guard ofBulgakov with Chepik’s illustrations.40 lithographs of The White Guard exhibited at theMikhail Bulgakov Museum in Moscow. Publication of a third monograph: Epiphania, thereligious paintings of Sergei Chepik, by Sergei Chepikand Marie-Aude Albert.Solo exhibition, “New Works”, The Catto Gallery, London. Following Dr Moses’ retirement the new Dean removesThe Way, The Truth and The Life from St Paul’s Cathedral.

2009Solo exhibition, “La Feria”, Galerie Arte Viva, Paris-Levallois. Solo exhibition, “Bulgakov’s White Guard”, SpringfieldUniversity, USA. Major solo exhibition, “New Works”, The CattoGallery, London.

2010“Homo Sum” exhibition, Slavinsky Art Gallery, Saint-Petersburg.Solo exhibition, “Religious works”, Notre-DameChurch, Auvers-sur-OiseSolo exhibition, “Paris is a Feast”, Paris ExclusiveGallery, Paris.

2011Solo exhibition, “Walking in Paris”, Galerie Arte Viva,Paris-Levallois.Solo exhibition “Epiphania”, Atrium, rue des Saints-Pères, Paris. Publication by Sergei Chepik and Marie-Aude Albert ofa fourth book Chepik, The White Guard of Bulgakov with40 drawings for the Russian writer’s novel.October 16, his wife’s birthday, Chepik paints his finalwork—The Portrait of Marie-Aude Albert at her Desk.November 10, final solo exhibition opens at the CattoGallery in London. November 18: Chepik, dies from a heart attack. Hisfuneral is held in the Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky inParis. He is buried the same day in Montmartre Cemetery.

2012June 29, dedication of Chepik’s tomb by FatherGregor Prichodko.

2013August 1st, Marie-Aude Albert-Chepik sets up afoundation, The Sergei Chepik Charity Trust, intendedto keep alive the memory and promote the work ofthe artist. Publication of a fourth monograph: Sergei Chepik, UltimaOpera (works 2008-2011) by Marie-Aude Albert.

CATTO GALLERY100 Heath Street • Hampstead • London NW3 1DP

Tel: +44 (0)20 7435 6660 • www.cattogallery.co.uk • art@cattogallery.co.uk

Opening times: 10am - 6pm Mon - Sat • 12.30pm - 6pm Sunday • and by appointment

EXHIBITION DATES: 29th January - 13th February 2014