Serge Charchoune (Russian-French, 1888-1975)

Serge Charchoune (also Sergey Sharshun, Russian: Сергей Ивнович Шаршун) was a Russian artist and poet. He moved to Paris in 1912 and was mainly active in France throughout his life. Closely associated with Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, Charchoune’s work is often described as an ‘alternative’ abstraction. His work is seen as modest and gentle in the atmosphere of aggression and violence seen in his contemporaries.

On his first arrival in Paris, Charchoune became interested in the Cubist movement and studied under Henri Le Fauconnier. During World War I, he spent two and half years in Spain, primarily in Barcelona. It was there that he first came into contact with Dada, furthermore, he was inspired by Islamic ornamental tiles.

Following the 1917 revolution in Russia, Charchoune tried to return to his home country, but failed and so he remained in Paris. He began attending Dadaist meetings and participated in Dada demonstrations, however, breaking his ties with the movement in the early 1920s.

From the 1930s onwards, Charchoune experimented with both abstract and figurative languages, often combining the two. Colour and texture play an important role in the work of the postwar period, as the relationship between art and music comes to the forefront of his paintings. Charchoune drew a lot of inspiration from classical music, as evident in many canvases of his mature period titled after specific compositions.