Vyacheslav Mikhailov

Biography and Exhibitions

Vyacheslav Mikhailov was born in 1945 in the Stavropol region. Mikhailov attended the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Leningrad where he studied under the renowned art professor Yevsey Moisejenko. In 1977 he graduated from the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg.

After completing his post-graduate studies in 1979, Mikhailov was devoted to searching for new forms of expression.  In order to create his desired painterly effect he used layers of levkas (a traditional material used in icon painting) and impasto paint application to create relief, and thus moved away from the established painting tradition, seeking to make his works more organic and visceral.  Though his work contained literary references and links to mythology, his focus was the physicality of texture.

Mikhailov is now one of the foremost painters in St. Petersburg, and has developed a painterly language that is founded in form and semantics.  His paintings fascinate with their intricate surfaces and saturated colors.  Working in large series and developing a group of work over an extended period of time, his work is founded on the idea of memory, and is himself committed to both the present and the past in his painting practice.

In the early 1980's Mikhailov began participating in various exhibitions, both in Russia and abroad in Europe, China and America.  He had a solo exhibition at the Russian State Museum in 1995 and contributed to a group exhibition at the Hermitage Museum in 2004.  He is a member of the Russian Association of Artists and a member of the State Artists Association of Italy, ITALART.  He has also been awarded the title of "Honored Artist of Russia".  Since 1977, Vyacheslav Mikhailov has participated in over 200 exhibitions.

Museum collections:

 

Over 40 museums and a number of private collections in Russia and abroad feature paintings by Vyacheslav Mikhailov. Among the museum collections are:

 

State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Museum at Schmidt-Haus, Nabburg, Germany.

Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany.

Zimmerly Art Museum, New Jersey, USA.

State Museum of International Art, Beijing, China.

State Museum of Art, Shanghai, China.

State Art Gallery, Mandal, Norway.

Art Museum, Tampere, Finland.

Kadriorg State Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia.