Michael Chernishov

The Russian and American artist, who many art critics consider one of the most important figures on the Soviet art scene in the second half of the 20th century, simultaneously worked in the directions of pop art and geometric abstraction and was one of the pioneers of performance art in the USSR, is Michael Chernishov.
Chernishov's style and primary interests began to take shape in the late 1950s, distinct from other artists, groups, and schools. He consciously started pursuing art at the age of 15 after seeing the works of abstract expressionists at the American National Exhibition in Sokolniki in 1959.
In the 1960s, he was friends with artists Mikhail Roginsky and Vladimir Yakovlev. In 1962, Chernishov had his first apartment exhibition titled "Red Truck," which took place in the Mnevniki district of Moscow at Mikhail Roginsky's residence. Two years later, Roginsky and Chernishov organized a joint exhibition at the "Disk" cinema in Moscow.
In the early 1960s, Chernishov studied at the Zagorsk Art and Industrial Technical School for Toys, and later he enrolled in the Department of Art History at the Historical Faculty of Moscow State University. However, after two years, during the study of Byzantine art, he lost interest and was dismissed.
In 1974, he participated in the "Second Autumn Review of Paintings" in Izmaylovsky Park in Moscow, known as the Izmailovo Exhibition. In 1975, he conducted the happening "30th Anniversary of the United Nations" with a group of artists in Moscow, and in 1976, he collaborated with Boris Bech on the happening "Doubling I" in Vorontsov Park (Moscow). Two years later, in 1978, Michael Chernishov, Boris Bech, Konstantin Zvezdochotov, Vitaly Dlugy, and A. Vlamov organized the happening "Doubling II."
In 1978, a retrospective of his works from 1961 to 1978 was held at the Moscow Graphic Artists' Union (Gorkom of Graphic Artists). In 1980, he emigrated from the USSR. In 1987, he wrote a memoir, "Moscow 1961-67," about the early years of his artistic career. He currently lives and works in New York.

Michael Chernishov's works can be found in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), the Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), the Zimmerli Museum (New Jersey, USA), and other museums.