Genia Chef
Encyclopedia
Genia Chef is a Russian
artist
living in Berlin
, Germany. International Who's Who 2000 notes that before emigrating to the West in 1985 he was a member of Soviet Nonconformist Art
circles in Moscow
, a group that included, among others, Ilya Kabakov
, Viktor Pivovarov
, Anatoly Zverev
and Semyon Faibisovich. During that period he began to use his artist's name "Genia Chef."
Chef's work is represented in the permanent collection of the State Russian Museum
in St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg: Times of Change, Art in the Soviet Union 1960-1985, Exhibition Catalogue of the State Museum, Palace Editions, 2008). His work is also held in the The Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection in the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum; the Kolodzei Art Foundation; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje, Macedonia; the Sigmund Freud's Dreams Museum in St. Petersburg; and Checkpoint Charlie Museum
in Berlin, Germany, among others.
Spain's La Vanguardia
newspaper (24 June 1989) has called Chef "An artist of grand culture, whose precise work combines ideas and techniques from both East and West in an effort to portray a new social order that seeks to recapture beauty."
Chef's father, Vladimir Scheffer, was a photojournalist in Moscow (cover photograph, Izvestija, no. 234, 1 Sept. 1937). In the late 1930s he was banished to Kazakhstan on political grounds, and it was there that his son Evgeny was born. In 1961, five years after Nikita Khrushchev
denounced Joseph Stalin
's crimes in his Secret Speech at the Twentieth Party Congress, Vladimir Scheffer was granted permission for the family to return to Moscow. Who is Who in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland notes that Chef then studied 1967-71 at the Art School for Children in Moscow. He was later a student 1972-77 at Moscow's Polygraphic Institute, where he received first prize for his M.A. diploma for his illustrations to Edgar Allan Poe
. In 1985 Chef moved to West Germany, where his etchings based on Marquis de Sade
earned him attention from the press (Die Rheinpfalz, Huldigung an de Sade, 27 Feb. 1986; Mannheimer Morgen Nr. 43, Ausstellung in Edigheim - Hommage à de Sade, 21 Feb.1986; Bietigheimer Zeitung, Geschmack der Freiheit, 5 Dec. 1986). In 1988 Chef was accepted to the Master Class of Arik Brauer
at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
, Austria. In 1993 the Academy awarded Chef its Master of Fine Arts
degree, together with its Fueger Gold Prize (Vienna: Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Catalogue of Diploma Works, 1993). Metropolis Magazine
(May 1993) noted that during this period Chef shuttled regularly "between Vienna, Berlin, New York, and the Spanish coastal village of Cadaques," describing Chef as "a new type of Russian artist with a peripatetic lifestyle, evoking a newly found freedom of global mobility."
In late 1993 Chef moved to New York City
where he exhibited his works with several former members of Soviet nonconformist art circles in a number of group exhibitions. These included Post New World Order: Restructured Myths and Old Symbols / New Icons in Russian Contemporary Art at Stuart Levy Fine Art, Soho; and Monumental Propaganda at the World Trade Center
curated by Komar and Melamid
. The Wall Street Journal (5 October 1993), describing a series of paintings of shoes from this time, reported that Chef "has a good, warped mind." Chef's many solo exhibitions have included shows at Stuart Levy Fine Art, NY; House of Latin America in Monte Carlo
under the patronage of Louis Prince de Polignac; and the Italian Cultural Institute, Berlin, among others. In 2007, Chef participated in the second Moscow Biennale
with his installation My Personal Temple which was again featured in the 2009 group show Born in the U.S.S.R. at Berlin's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chef has illustrated numerous books, including Prose and Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe (Moskow: Raduga, 1983) and Nothing Lasts Forever Anymore by Michael Lederer (Barcelona: Parsifal Ediciones, 1999.) Chef's own book Finger World was published in 1993 in Nurenberg. His other writings include the essay The Manifesto of Degeneratism: with Regulations on the Universal and Compulsory Wearing of Collars by Degenerates and the Doctrine Concerning the Rectifier (1988: Cadaques).
Chef's painting Madonna de la Esparanza hangs in the baroque church Iglesia de Santa Maria in Cadaques
, Spain
.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
living in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany. International Who's Who 2000 notes that before emigrating to the West in 1985 he was a member of Soviet Nonconformist Art
Soviet Nonconformist Art
The term Soviet Nonconformist Art refers to art produced in the former Soviet Union from 1953-1986 outside of the rubric of Socialist Realism...
circles in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, a group that included, among others, Ilya Kabakov
Ilya Kabakov
Ilya Kabakov, Russian Илья́ Ио́сифович Кабако́в , is a Russian-American conceptual artist of Jewish descent, born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. He worked for thirty years in Moscow, from the 1950s until the late 1980s. He now lives and works on Long Island...
, Viktor Pivovarov
Viktor Pivovarov
Viktor Pivovarov , along with Ilya Kabakov and Erik Bulatov, was one of the leading artists of the Moscow Conceptualist artistic movement of the 1960s and 1970s...
, Anatoly Zverev
Anatoly Zverev
Anatoly Zverev was a Russian artist, a member of the non-conformist movement and a founder of Russian Expressionism in the 1960s. He spent all of his life in Moscow....
and Semyon Faibisovich. During that period he began to use his artist's name "Genia Chef."
Chef's work is represented in the permanent collection of the State Russian Museum
Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg....
in St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg: Times of Change, Art in the Soviet Union 1960-1985, Exhibition Catalogue of the State Museum, Palace Editions, 2008). His work is also held in the The Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection in the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum; the Kolodzei Art Foundation; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje, Macedonia; the Sigmund Freud's Dreams Museum in St. Petersburg; and Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Checkpoint Charlie Museum
The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is a museum in Berlin. It is named after the famous crossing point on the Berlin Wall, and was created to document the so-called "best border security system in the world"...
in Berlin, Germany, among others.
Spain's La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia is Catalonia's leading daily newspaper as well as the fourth best-selling in Spain. It has its headquarters in Barcelona, Catalonia's largest city....
newspaper (24 June 1989) has called Chef "An artist of grand culture, whose precise work combines ideas and techniques from both East and West in an effort to portray a new social order that seeks to recapture beauty."
Chef's father, Vladimir Scheffer, was a photojournalist in Moscow (cover photograph, Izvestija, no. 234, 1 Sept. 1937). In the late 1930s he was banished to Kazakhstan on political grounds, and it was there that his son Evgeny was born. In 1961, five years after Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
denounced Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's crimes in his Secret Speech at the Twentieth Party Congress, Vladimir Scheffer was granted permission for the family to return to Moscow. Who is Who in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland notes that Chef then studied 1967-71 at the Art School for Children in Moscow. He was later a student 1972-77 at Moscow's Polygraphic Institute, where he received first prize for his M.A. diploma for his illustrations to Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
. In 1985 Chef moved to West Germany, where his etchings based on Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
earned him attention from the press (Die Rheinpfalz, Huldigung an de Sade, 27 Feb. 1986; Mannheimer Morgen Nr. 43, Ausstellung in Edigheim - Hommage à de Sade, 21 Feb.1986; Bietigheimer Zeitung, Geschmack der Freiheit, 5 Dec. 1986). In 1988 Chef was accepted to the Master Class of Arik Brauer
Arik Brauer
Arik Brauer is an Austrian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, poet, dancer, singer and stage designer. He resides in Vienna and Ein Hod, Israel. Brauer is a co-founder of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, together with Ernst Fuchs, Rudolf Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter and Anton Lehmden.Erich...
at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
, Austria. In 1993 the Academy awarded Chef its Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree, together with its Fueger Gold Prize (Vienna: Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Catalogue of Diploma Works, 1993). Metropolis Magazine
Metropolis Magazine
Metropolis is an 80-page free weekly city guide, news and classified ads glossy magazine published by Crisscross KK targeting English-speaking foreigners in Tokyo, Japan. As of April 2011, its circulation was about 30,000.-History:...
(May 1993) noted that during this period Chef shuttled regularly "between Vienna, Berlin, New York, and the Spanish coastal village of Cadaques," describing Chef as "a new type of Russian artist with a peripatetic lifestyle, evoking a newly found freedom of global mobility."
In late 1993 Chef moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he exhibited his works with several former members of Soviet nonconformist art circles in a number of group exhibitions. These included Post New World Order: Restructured Myths and Old Symbols / New Icons in Russian Contemporary Art at Stuart Levy Fine Art, Soho; and Monumental Propaganda at the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
curated by Komar and Melamid
Komar and Melamid
Komar and Melamid is an artistic team made up of Russian-born American graphic artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid . In an artists’ statement they said that “Even if only one of us creates some of the projects and works, we usually sign them together...
. The Wall Street Journal (5 October 1993), describing a series of paintings of shoes from this time, reported that Chef "has a good, warped mind." Chef's many solo exhibitions have included shows at Stuart Levy Fine Art, NY; House of Latin America in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
under the patronage of Louis Prince de Polignac; and the Italian Cultural Institute, Berlin, among others. In 2007, Chef participated in the second Moscow Biennale
Moscow Biennale
The Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art is one of the most important Russian cultural events and was founded in 2003.- First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art :...
with his installation My Personal Temple which was again featured in the 2009 group show Born in the U.S.S.R. at Berlin's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chef has illustrated numerous books, including Prose and Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe (Moskow: Raduga, 1983) and Nothing Lasts Forever Anymore by Michael Lederer (Barcelona: Parsifal Ediciones, 1999.) Chef's own book Finger World was published in 1993 in Nurenberg. His other writings include the essay The Manifesto of Degeneratism: with Regulations on the Universal and Compulsory Wearing of Collars by Degenerates and the Doctrine Concerning the Rectifier (1988: Cadaques).
Chef's painting Madonna de la Esparanza hangs in the baroque church Iglesia de Santa Maria in Cadaques
Cadaqués
Cadaqués is a town in the Alt Empordà comarca, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.