Mihail Chemiakin’s Living Castle: Where Art Thinks, Teaches and Breathes

A Life Like No Other

Born in 1943 in Moscow, Chemiakin spent part of his youth in East Germany before returning to Leningrad. He was expelled from art school for “aesthetic deviation”, subjected to forced psychiatric treatment, and ultimately exiled from the USSR in 1971. In Paris, he was supported by legendary gallerist Dina Vierny. Later, in New York, his works entered major museum and private collections. He created scenography for The Nutcracker at the Mariinsky Theatre and launched publishing, curatorial, and research initiatives that crossed continents.

Today, Chemiakin lives and works in France. His 18th-century château is not a museum, not a gallery, and not a retreat. It is a mind made architectural: a place of labor, study, and imagination.

Not a Museum, but a Mind at Work

Although photography is not permitted inside the château itself — out of respect for the artist’s workspaces — we were allowed to see the places where thought and creation unfold. Inside, Chemiakin maintains several private studios. In one, he is writing the second volume of his autobiography — the first is already published and now being translated into English. In another, he illustrates a new book of Russian riddles, his desk surrounded by materials, drafts, and art books. A third room is dedicated to quiet reading, research, and annotation.

These rooms are private, active, and focused. Nothing here is staged. This is the quiet machinery of a master at work.

The Outer Studios: Where Visitors and Students Meet

Around the château, several external buildings host painting studios, graphic labs, and the archival workshop. These spaces are open to occasional visitors and document the breadth of Chemiakin’s process. Long wooden tables are filled with colored pencils, fabric swatches, sketches, prints, and visual studies. We saw theatrical compositions in progress, materials for upcoming publications, and thousands of archival images in visual dialogue.

These buildings also serve an educational function. When Chemiakin gathers a group of students, they live and work here — not as part of a formal program, but as apprentices in a living artistic ecosystem. During our visit, the studios were quiet, but in the garden we encountered Alexander, a mature artist and long-time friend of Chemiakin. He had come simply to visit, exchange thoughts, and enjoy the creative atmosphere. In this place, such meetings feel inevitable and organic.

Sculptures Returning Home

A unique moment took place during our visit: several monumental sculptures had just arrived back at the château after a long exhibition tour — most likely from the United States. Crated and secured, they stood outside the château, awaiting their return to familiar positions in the gardens.

Seeing them again here, in the French light and silence, felt like watching memory itself materialize. These were not objects. They were presences — and they were home.

The Archive and the Library

One of Chemiakin’s most remarkable projects is his visual archive, which he has developed for decades. One section is devoted entirely to the symbolic form of the staircase in art — a two-volume study with thousands of annotated images. This is part of his broader Imaginary Museum initiative, a digital and physical collection now partially available online:
🔗 www.imaginaire.art

Above the studios, his private art library holds rare publications, exhibition catalogues, and visual research materials — often acquired immediately upon international release. It functions like a scholar’s atelier, yet remains fully personal.

A Quiet Surprise for Collectors

As we moved through the estate, we learned that a small number of Chemiakin’s works — paintings and sculptures — may become available for collectors in the near future. This is a rare occasion. The artist’s market is long-established, and any release from his private collection represents a unique opportunity.

View available works here:
🔗 art-most.com/catalogue/chemiakin (active selection updated regularly)

A Visit to Remember

This article is based on a private visit by Vyacheslav Tishin and Ekaterina Borodai, co-founders of ART MOST — a platform for curating, advising, and connecting international collectors with museum-level contemporary art.

Text by Ekaterina Borodai
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