Alla Chekhova

Alla Chekhova is a Russian who was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1980. A descendant of Anton Chekhov, Alla was 11 when the Soviet Union broke up and life became more difficult for ethnic Russian citizens of Central Asian Republics. In 2000, Ms. Chekhova moved to the United States. She immediately enrolled at the Provincetown International Art Institute, where she studied oil and watercolor painting as well as printmaking, etching and drawing with distinguished artist Jim Peters and Vicky Tomayko. "Her talent is obvious, her quick insights, her fearless attack on the canvas, her penetration to the core of what she is painting," Peters said about Chekhova. "Her bold compositions capture a beauty which holds the essence of our landscape much in the way that the work of Edward Hopper captured the Cape of 50 years ago." In January 2004, supported by the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Ms. Chekhova was granted a rare visa giving her status for her Extraordinary Ability in the Arts. This visa, usually reserved for world-renown artists, has allowed Alla to continue her work as an artist in the United States.

Ms. Chekhova's watercolors caught the attention of the art world. "She has a very mature sense of color and is not afraid of strong values," noted highly-awarded watercolorist Elizabeth Pratt. "Already at this young age she has developed a style of her own that is consistent. This in itself in unusual."

Elizabeth Ives Hunter, Executive Director of the Cape Cod Museum of Art, commented "Ms. Chekhova's work reflects influence from Oriental and Western Academic traditions. Her unique contribution to the art of our region is remarkable."

A celebrated member of the National Watercolor Society, Garry Gilmartin, recommended Chekhova as "an outstanding artist to be considered for gallery representation." Art collectors throughout the Northeast have been buying Chekhova's work and she is now on her way to having well-deserved national recognition.

Alla's watercolors and oils are dramatic, rich and intuitive, reflecting the intense and conflicting experiences of growing up Russian in Uzbekistan with the natural peace of living on Cape Cod.

Artist's Statement:

There is power and poetry in the landscape of the Outer Cape that I think lures us all into staying here as people and as artists. Every time you choose to pick up your head and look out at this place - a pond, a marsh, a beach - there is always something lyrical and, at times, ethereal about this visual experience. It can affect you differently every time you look. I live far away from my family in Tashkent and I find the landscape comforting and inspirational. It keeps me moving forward. In my work, I try to capture the strength of this place by focusing on the power of the darker tones, the heavy weather that rolls across this rugged land and washes away the obvious.

Alla Chekhova Kennedy

Education

2001-2003 Provincetown International Art Institute and Museum School, Provincetown, Massachusetts

1987-1997 High School #221, Mirzo Ulugbek, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Selected Group Exhibitions

2009 19^th Annual Beacon Hill Art Walk, 2^nd place award, June 7, 2009

2009 “YELLOW”: Member’s Open Exhibition, April 24- May 24, 2009

2008 “BLUE”: Member’s Open Exhibition, March 7 – May 11, 2008

2007 Addison Art Gallery, February 2007 – August 2007, Orleans, MA

2007 “Across the Cape”, April 7, 2007, Addison Art Gallery, Orleans, MA

2007 “Passion show”, February 17, 2007, Addison Art Gallery, Orleans, MA

2007 “Members Juried Exhibition, (juror: Nora Donnelly, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston ), March 30 – May 6, 2007, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2006-2007 “Members Open Small Works”, December 1, 2006-January 9, 2007, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2006 “International Group Show @ GinaArt.org”, September through November 2006, Los Angeles, CA

2006 Members Juried Exhibition, (juror: Karen Nielsen), September 1 – October 8, 2006, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2006 Members Open Exhibition, July 21 – August 27, 2006 Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2006 “12 X 12 Artists Panels”, and exhibition and silent auction, June 30 – August 27, 2006, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2006 “Solo show”, August 20, 2006, Committee for the Ministry of Arts, First Congregational Church, Wellfleet, MA

2006 “Black & White”, March 10, 2006 – April 2, 2006,Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2006 Members Open Exhibition, February 3 – March 5, 2006, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2005 Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2005 Small Works Show, November 26, 2005, Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2005 Group Invitational Show, September 3, 2005, Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2005 Memorial Day Invitational Show, May 27, 2005, Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2005 “Provincetown Landmarks”, February 18, 2005- March 25, 2005, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2004 Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2004 Small Works Members Open Show, December 10, 2004- January 16, 2005, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2004 Small Works Show, November 27, 2004, Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2004 Memorial Day Invitational Show, May 29, 2004, Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2004 Small Works Show, February 20- March 21, 2004, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2003 Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2003 Small Works Members Open Show, December 12, 2003- January 11, 2004, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2003 Small Works Show, November 2003- January 2004, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA

2003 Small Works Show, November 29- December 24, 2003, Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2003 Members Juried Show, November 7- December 7, 2003, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA

2003 Fall Show, Provincetown Museum School, Provincetown, MA

2002 Harmon Studio Gallery, Wellfleet, MA

2002 Arnolds Mills Community House Spring Art Show, Cumberland, RI

2002 Spring Show, Provincetown International Art Institute, Provincetown, MA

2002 Winter Show, Provincetown International Art Institute, Provincetown, MA

2001 Fall Show, Provincetown International Art Institute, Provincetown, MA

1998 Arts & Crafts of Central Asia, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Selected Private Collections

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Orleans, MA

Domonic Boreffi, MA

Stanford Goldman, Cambridge, MA

Ruth Hiebert, Provincetown, MA

Robert Harrison, NY, NY

Tami Fox, Brooklyn, NY

Andrew Weber, Rosslyn, VA

Neil Yarhouse, Woodbury, CT

David Kennedy, Wellfleet, MA

Justin Freed, Sarasota, FL

Articles & Publications

2007 “Young artist of Cape Cod”, Cape Arts Review, Volume VII, 2007

2005 “To Tashkent with glove”, Cape Cod Times, October 19, 2005

2004 “Humpback found dead in Wellfleet” (photo by Alla Chekhova), Cape Cod Times, December 12, 2004

2003 “Small-Works Show A Pleasing Package”, Cape Cod Times, November 30, 2003

2003 “Juried show brings out a crowd”, Provincetown Banner, November 13, 2003

2003 “An Ephemeral Exhibition”, Cape Cod Times, November 7, 2003

2002 “Uzbekistan Artist hopes to stay here”, Provincetown Banner, August 22, 2002

2002 Illustration for The Cape Cod Voice, August 1, 2002

2002 “Is she good enough to stay?” Cape Cod Times, July 14, 2002

Other

2009 Participating artist in Wellfleet Annual Oyster Festival, October 17-18, 2009, Wellfleet, MA

2009 “Happy Oyster Spectacular”, actor, producer, seamstress, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (W.H.A.T), summer 2009

2009 “Stouffers commercial”, actor, February 2009

2009 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2008 Member of Savitsky Museum, Friends of Nukus Museum (FoNM), Nukus, Republic of Karakalpakstan, Central Asia

2008 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2007 Participating artist in Wellfleet Annual Oyster Festival, October 13-14, 2007, Wellfleet, MA

2007 Member of Savitsky Museum, Friends of Nukus Museum (FoNM), Nukus, Republic of Karakalpakstan, Central Asia

2007 Donating artist of Wellfleet Annual Auction, October 19-20, 2007, Wellfleet, MA

2006 Participating artist in Wellfleet Annual Oyster Festival, October 14-15, 2006, Wellfleet, MA

2006 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2005 Participating artist in Wellfleet Annual Oyster Festival, October 14-16, 2005, Wellfleet, MA

2005 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2004 Participating artist in Wellfleet Annual Oyster Festival, October 15-17, 2004, Wellfleet, MA

2004 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2003 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2003 Donating artist of Wellfleet Annual Auction, October 18, 2003, Wellfleet, MA

2003 Participating artist in Wellfleet Annual Oyster Festival, October 18-19, 2003, Wellfleet, MA

2003 Participated in the preparation (January- May 2003) of the 10^th International Conference on Oriental Rugs, April 17-21, 2003, Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Washington, D.C.

2002 Member of Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA

2002-2008 Hanging and coordinating juried and members open shows, auction participant at Provincetown Art Association and the Museum, MA

1996-2000 Commercial painter & seamstress, Tashkent, Uzbekistan