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Mihail Chemiakin – Metaphysical Circus, Signed Ink Drawing, Paris Period
Mihail Chemiakin – Metaphysical Circus, Signed Ink Drawing, Paris Period
In this richly detailed ink drawing from the 1970s, Mihail Chemiakin (b. 1943) orchestrates a visual theater of transformation and surreal invention. Composed as a 12-panel grid, the piece presents a sequence of morphing figures and dreamlike beings, each panel a self-contained universe yet rhythmically linked to the others. The format echoes a filmstrip or storyboard, suggesting movement, narrative, and psychological layering.
Chemiakin’s signature style—delicate yet deliberate line work, hybrid forms, and anthropomorphic distortion—is on full display here. Echoes of the grotesque, the ritualistic, and the theatrical speak to his lifelong fascination with masked identity and metamorphosis. These themes, deeply rooted in his exile from the Soviet Union and his immersion in the Paris avant-garde, place this drawing squarely within his most sought-after creative period.
Signed in the upper right, this work is professionally matted and framed under glass. As both a technical and conceptual tour de force, Metaphysical Circus is a museum-quality drawing from one of the 20th century’s most complex visual thinkers.
Medium: Ink on paper
Date: Circa 1975
Signature: Signed by the artist, upper right
Provenance: From a private collection, acquired during Chemiakin’s Paris year
