Ilya Chichkan (1967, Ukraine)

Ilya Chichkan was born in Kiev in 1967. Painter, author of installations, photo and video projects. Although the artist never formally studied art, he learned how to paint from his grandfather – art professor, famous classicist of Socialist Realism Leonid Chichkan and his father - Ukrainian non-conformist artist Arkady Chichkan. Ilya Chichkan is a founder of the Ukrainian Artist Movement New Wave that developed in the beginning of 1990s in Kiev. The artist had a great exposure to the West. Through the CEC ArtsLink Residencies program Chichkan studied and worked in the USA in 1996 at Glassel School of Arts, Houston, Texas and in 1997 at Nexus Center for Contemporary Art, Atlanta, Georgia. The artist lived and worked in Berlin in 1994-1995, where he developed his well known project Monkey or Man. Other artistic projects by Chichkan are Sleeping Princes of Ukraine, Atomic Love, Mind Game, Defenders. In 2009 the artist created The Steppes, a project for the Ukrainian Pavilion at Venice Biennale. Recently, Ilya Chichkan has been traveling to India over the winter and spring time, where he maintains a studio in New Dehli. The artist lives and works in Kiev.

Heavyweight Curator, 2009
C-print.
122.7 x 150 cm. (48 1/4 x 59 in)