SERGEY CHEREP
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) on January 24 1969, Sergey
began studying art as a young child. At the age of 3 he developed
meningitis and became paralyzed, unable to walk or speak for
several years. Attending a school for children with disabilities
until he was 7, he began to find comfort in painting. At the
age of 8 he was enrolled in a pre-school for artists and went
on to attend college at the prestigious Serevo Institute. There
he gained extensive knowledge of all the classic art forms,
including European art history, photography, print processes,
sculpture, restoration techniques and painting everything from
still life to portraits.
“It was very disciplined” says Sergey, who is still
deaf in his right ear from his childhood meningitis. “We
did traditional things like still life, painting bowls and squares.
The teachers told us what to paint – there was no freedom.
There was no such thing as abstract because it was considered
very Western and evil. The school was free – they gave
me the paint, the brushes and the teachers, everything was paid
for by the government. Russia went with talent. But once we
got our diplomas we were supposed to get a job and contribute
back to society.”
Sergey graduated from the art university in 1988 when he was
18. Glasnost was just coming in and Gorbechev allowed free enterprise
on the streets. But while the young artist would paint cityscapes
in oil, he was forced to sell his artwork through the organised
crime gangs which controlled the streets, giving them 70 percent
of his profits. Filled with wanderlust and dreams of what he
could accomplish, in 1991 Sergey made the decision to go to
America to find the freedom he so desperately desired.
Leaving his family and everything he knew behind, 21 year old
Sergey obtained a visa with the help of an American tourist
visiting Moscow and in May 1992 flew to Atlanta, Georgia. A
Russian artist friend with whom he had attended art school,
had a friend who was a professor at Emory University who invited
Sergey to stay with him.
Not able to speak a word of English, Sergey got a lowly paid
job cleaning toilets and collecting rubbish at the IRS building,
painting only in his spare time. He learned to speak English
by listening to the people who worked at the IRS talk and by
trying to read discarded newspapers.
One day Sergey showed some of his artwork to his manager, who
became excited by what he saw. He set up an art show for Sergey
in the cafeteria of the IRS building and sold three paintings
for cash. Afterwards Sergey found a small framing shop in Atlanta
and the owner offered to let him display his art there and do
some shows. He sold one painting for $1000 – a stark contrast
to the $600 a month he was making from his cleaning job!
The turning point for Sergey came when he met his wife Renee
at a Christmas party in December 1995. With his talent and her
head for business, the couple immediately set out to get Sergey
and his art recognised. They took a stand at an art trade show
in New York during which Sergey made $20,000. After this, Sergey
was able to get his work into several acclaimed galleries.
In 1994 Sergey visited California’s Napa Valley for the
first time and was enchanted by the smell of grapes, the beautiful
landscape and ambience. It was then that his art changed from
the traditional European style of painting that depicted stark
realism and was so prevalent in Russia, to painting a bright,
vivid palette of land and sea in primary colours.
“The technique of painting that I have embraced is definitely
the Post Impressionism style made famous by Van Gogh,”
says Sergey. “I love the simplicity of colour and energy
found in his work. The bold unrealistic colours and expressive
brushstrokes of my predecessors are my tools as I try to bring
a three-dimensional feeling out from the paintings by using
colour perspective and a thick texture. My paintings are like
fairy tales – a dream place, I don’t see things
as realistic, I allow for the fantastic to happen. When I travel
I get inspired, anything can motivate me – a picture,
a cut watermelon or even a colour.”
Sergey has accomplished a signature style which allows his
work to be recognised immediately. He rises at 5.30am each day
and begins sketching. When he is comfortable with his composition
he begins painting. (“Eighty percent of successful painting
is in composition” he notes). Sergey produces about 500-800
sketches each year and around 300 paintings. His work now hangs
in major galleries internationally.
“I feel like I’m halfway up the stairs,”
he sums up. “It’s not fame I desire, but to grow
as an artist. I still have the hunger inside and I do want to
be known. I love teaching people how to paint and I love that
they come to me. Painting is very cathartic for me.”
Sergey Cherep has changed the international cultural scene
with the beautiful landscapes and seascapes that earned him
the Muse Award for the ‘Best in Oils’ at the prestigious
2nd Annual International ARTV Awards. Among his many other accolades
Sergey also holds the title of professor at the Accademia de
Verbanzo in Italy.
The Wilson Family & Sergey
Featured
in the Yorkshire Post Magazine 20th August 2011
