Nicholaas Chiao Announces Virtual Retrospective Highlighting His Museum Interior Paintings from 2006–2012
The series began in 2006 during Chiao’s travels through Germany, where he produced the painting Daliah in Rudolstadt after photographing his surroundings using Eric Fischl’s documentary method. The piece debuted at the New York Affordable Art Fair that same year and was purchased by an American collector, and three similar paintings were also sold for $4800 each. Over the following year, Chiao expanded the series in collaboration with Behr-Thyssen Ltd., resulting in works such as Visitor (2007) and Chaos and Order (2007), which depicted women in museum environments and intimate studio spaces.
In 2008, Chiao established a new partnership with Tallantyre Gallery in the UK, leading to the development of a second wave of paintings. These later pieces, including Glass Room, Watchers in the Darkness, Presence, and Red Room (all completed in 2012), were based on photographs taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The works reflect Chiao’s evolving exploration of public and private space, spectatorship, and the quiet power of institutional architecture.
“Art is the ultimate escape from death by means of everlasting beauty,” says Chiao, reflecting on the themes behind the series. “By embedding human figures within the museum, I aimed to blur the lines between observer and observed, between the fleeting moment and the eternal.”
Many of these works were acquired at art fairs in London or sold through direct gallery relationships, yet they have remained largely absent from the press until now. The new online retrospective presents high-resolution images of the full collection alongside commentary and context from the artist. In addition to oil paintings, the exhibition features complex digital compositions such as The Presence III (2014–2025) and The Presence VI (2024), which reinterpret his Met Museum source material through digital collage and abstraction.
The exhibition is accessible at https://photorealism.nicholaaschiao.com/art.html, offering a rare look into a body of work that combines rigorous technique, conceptual depth, and an unconventional approach to artistic style.
For more information about Nicholas Chistiakov, please visit https://nicholaaschiao.com
About Nicholas Chistiakov
Nicholaas Chiao (born Nicholas Chistiakov) is a Belarusian-born visual artist educated at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. Since 2006, he has exhibited internationally, working primarily with art galleries to distribute his work through exhibitions and art fairs. Chiao is known for his refusal to adhere to a single style, instead curating his website like a museum collection—a reflection of his broad technical range and thematic curiosity.
Nicholas Chistiakov
Artist
+1 929-370-5524
info@nicholaaschiao.com
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