Mihail Chemiakin (Russian b. 1943) “Metaphysical Bust,” 1978

"Metaphysical Bust,” 1978

Oil on canvas

Canvas size: 77" x 51" (195 x 130 cm)

Frame size: 81" x 55" (205.7 x 139.7 cm)

Signed and dated 1978 lower left.

Also, signed and dated verso.

Monumental oil on canvas executed during the artist’s important Paris émigré period, featuring a stylized metaphysical bust rendered in Chemiakin’s iconic surrealist and nonconformist visual language. Bold fields of cobalt blue, orange, green, and grey are combined with intricate symbolic linear elements, creating a powerful psychological and architectural composition.

One of the leading figures of Soviet Nonconformist art, Mihail Chemiakin was persecuted by Soviet authorities before emigrating to Paris in 1971 and later settled in New York. His work bridges Russian avant-garde traditions, metaphysical symbolism, surrealism, and theatrical imagination.

Works by Chemiakin are held in major museum collections worldwide, including the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, State Tretyakov Gallery, and the State Russian Museum.

The textured surface and monumental scale give the painting an exceptional visual presence closely associated with the artist’s celebrated metaphysical compositions of the late 1970s.

Condition: very good.