Boris Kocheishvili

Boris Kocheishvili, a distinguished Moscow-based artist and poet, is renowned for his prolific creative output in graphics and paintings, pioneering a novel form of a classical easel sculptural relief. Today, all these types of works are represented in a number of leading museum collections. His poetry has earned him a place among the luminaries of Russian avant-garde literature and is regularly featured in literary magazines and almanacs.

Kocheishvili’s art, engaged in a dialog with a Western cultural tradition, created a context of its own, drawing influences from old Russian icon painters to Pirosmani and Picasso. The theatrical nature of his works is inspired by the mise-en-scenes from Shakespeare and Chekhov. The inadvertent minimalism of his artworks echoes the essence of minimalist poetry. At the same time, his art is contemporary and vibrant, reflecting his era, its profound images, and meanings. Kocheishvili invented an original artistic language, his hand, style, and alphabet are instantly recognizable. Boris Kocheishvili is a solitary artist who did not join any artistic associations and movements of his time; his statement has yet to be understood in the context of the era.

Boris Kocheishvili was born in 1940 in Elektrostal, a small industrial town in the Moscow region. After graduating from the Moscow Academic Art School, he started to work at the Nivinsky art studio, where he was mentored by Evgeny Teis and developed a keen interest in experimenting with printed graphics.

In 1981, his works were put on display at the “Exhibition of Works by Twenty-Three Moscow Artists” at the Central House of Artists in Moscow. This exhibition was one of the first major showcases in the USSR to feature artworks not officially sanctioned by the Soviet art establishment. Later some of his works from that exhibition were purchased by the State Tretyakov Gallery.

By 1986, his artworks were being presented worldwide. American gallerist Phyllis Kind first showcased Kocheishvili's art at the Chicago International Art Fair and in 1987 included his pieces in the exhibition “Direct from Moscow!” at her New York gallery along with works of Erik Bulatov, Oleg Vasiliev, and Semyon Faibisovich. In 1988, the artist's graphics were featured at the FIAC art fair in Paris, France. 

In the 2010s and 2020s, Kocheishvili held several retrospective solo exhibitions at major museums. In 2013, he presented “Simple Summer” at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, and in 2017, he had a solo exhibition at the Tbilisi MOMA.

The State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, a beacon of Russian culture, hosted the major solo exhibition “Boris Kocheishvili. Me and Them” in 2021. This exhibition, the comprehensive study of the artist’s works, was accompanied by a set of interactive multimedia close-ups.

Kocheishvili’s artworks are included in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), AZ Museum (Moscow), Alberto Sandretti Foundation (Milan), Stiftung Arina Kowner (Zürich), and more than twenty other regional museums and private collections.