Sergey Alexandrovich Anufriev

He was born into a family of hereditary artists. His father, Alexander Anufriev, in the 1960s was one of the founders of the Odessa school of unofficial art, which developed modernist aesthetics in the tradition of local color. In 1980, he emigrated to the USA. His mother, Margarita Anufrieva-Zharkova, was also a distinguished representative of this direction; in the 1980s, she headed the Odessa Museum of Contemporary Art, and in the 1990s, the Odessa Centre for Contemporary Art. It was she who introduced her son to the circle of Moscow conceptualists, showing him the first issue of the magazine 'A–Ya' in 1979, and in the early 1980s, directly bringing him into the artistic environment. Thus, he was warmly welcomed by NOMA and became something like a 'son of the regiment.' He received a good education (in particular, in philosophy, languages, and history), helped by his stepfather.

From 1982-1983, Anufriev began his career as an artist, exhibiting as part of the APTART project in Moscow at Nikita Alexeev's apartment and in Odessa at his mother's home gallery.
Between 1983-1986, Sergey had to hide in psychiatric hospitals to avoid the draft for the war in Afghanistan, and during this period he almost did not exhibit. Everything changed with the start of 'perestroika' in the USSR.
In 1985, Sergey moved to Moscow. There, together with Sven Gundlach, he founded the 'Club of Avant-gardists' (KLAVA) and became its first chairman. He also took part in the activities of Sergey Kuryokhin's 'Pop-Mechanics' and Andrey Monastyrsky's 'Central Russian Upland.' Together with Yuri Leiderman and Pavel Pepperstein, in 1987 he founded the 'Inspection "Medical Hermeneutics".' Since 1989, the group began to exhibit in the West. In the early 1990s, Sergey worked in the Kiev squat 'Paris Commune,' took part in the 'Cloud Commission' and 'Society of Tartu' groups.

In 1994, Sergey went to Europe, where, together with Pavel Pepperstein, he taught at the Städelschule in Frankfurt and wrote the book 'Artificial Ideologies.' Anufriev also taught at the Academy of Arts in Hamburg and at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden. At this time, the group 'Inspection "Medical Hermeneutics"' received a studio in Cologne for two years.
From 1998 to 2000, Sergey returned to Odessa, where he participated in the activities of the 'New Art' association, the counter-cultural magazine 'PLI,' and the founding of the literary school 'Odekadance.'

In 1999, the novel 'Mythogenic Love of Castes,' co-authored with Pavel Pepperstein, was first published.
A year later, Sergey went to Kiev, where he worked as the art director of Marat Gelman’s gallery. Returning to Moscow in 2002, he worked in the same position at Gelman’s gallery in Moscow, where he also conducted a series of actions and a video festival.
In 2003, the artist moved to Saint Petersburg. Together with Hermes Zaigott and Sergey Africa (Bugaev), he founded the 'Orchestra of Unknown Instruments' — 'ONI.' He then returned to Moscow, where he met Ekaterina Chala. The artist began work on creating the creative center 'Gazholder,' the 'Gaz-Gallery,' the magazine 'Kruzhok,' and the film 'RIFT' (based on Oleg Gruz’s play).

In 2009-2010, the family moved to Sergey’s hometown, Odessa. There the artist continued his active creative work. At the dawn of the 2010s, Anufriev formulated the main principles of 'patternism' and wrote a series of theoretical articles about Ukrainian contemporary art in the magazine Art Ukraine.

In 1985 he married the architect and restorer Maria Mikhailovna Chuikova. The marriage lasted 14 years.
In 2003 he married art curator Ekaterina Vladimirovna Chala.
Children:
Sergey had a son, Timofey Anufriev (2004-2026), and a daughter, Anfisa Anufrieva (born 2006), with Ekaterina. In 2022, after the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Timofey emigrated to Serbia. In 2023, he joined the Russian Volunteer Corps as an assault trooper. As part of the RVC, he participated in the raid on the Belgorod region in 2024. He died on January 6, 2026.
Maria Trekhsvyatskaya is the mother of Sergey's son, Anaphim Anufriev (born 2005).

1982 — Working exhibition at the APTART gallery (collective) (1st exhibition; 'A-Ya' magazine, No. 4). USSR, Moscow.
[...]
2022 — 'Traces into the Future' (Ukrainian: Сліди у Майбутнє). Museum of Western and Oriental Art. Ukraine, Odessa.

==== As part of Inspection 'Medical Hermeneutics' ====
1988 — Seminar 'New Languages in Art.' Moscow State University. USSR, Moscow.
[...]
2001 — Exhibition 'Inspection "Medical Hermeneutics" and its circle.' Russia, Moscow.

Anufriev, S. A.; Pepperstein, P. V. Mythogenic Love of Castes. Volume 1. — Moscow: Ad Marginem, 1999. — 480 p. — ISBN 5-93321-033-1.
Inspection 'Medical Hermeneutics.' The Empty Canon. In two volumes. — Moscow: Library of Moscow Conceptualism by German Titov, 2014. — 344 p. — ISBN 978-5-91967-135-0

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1998 – “A Great Nobodys” together with А. Nasonov and I. Dmitriev. L Gallery, Moscow 1995 – “A Souvenirs Problem”. Blank Gallery, Kiev
1994 – “Mentale Landschaften Russlands” (together with О. Ziangirova and М. Chuikova). Galerie Parzival, Berlin, Germany
1994 – “Aufder Such nach neuen “Nervi rennn” (together with О. Ziangirova and М. Chuikova). Sprinkenhof, Hamburg, Germany
1993 – “Aqua Vita” (together with O. Ziangirova and М. Chuikova). Contemporary Art Museum, Odessa
1991 – “Sergei Anufriev – Alexander Gnilitsky”. Gallery 1.0, Moscow
1983 – Exhibition at N. Alexeevs apartment. APTART, Moscow GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2008 – “A Good Artist…”. Ru-Arts Gallery, Moscow 2008 – “Trash - Glamour”. Ru-Arts Gallery, Moscow 2007 - “I Belive”, installation Buratinia, Moscow 2006 - “Artists Against The State: Perestroika Revisited”. Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Inc, New York City, NY 2000 – “The Pole of Cold”. “Inspection Medical Hermeneutics" and Russian Art of the 90s”. National Higher School of Fine Arts, Paris 2000 – “Clavas Lovers (Avant-gardists Club)”, 4th International Fair of Contemporary Art "Art-Moscow". Central House of Artists, Moscow
1999 – “MG Star. Inspection of Russian Art of the 90s”. Krasnoyarsk Museum & Exhibition Center, Krasnoyarsk
1999 – “A Wolf of a Man. Continuation of Hunting”. Tere Gallery, Odessa
1999 – “To Remember Everything”. TV Gallery, Moscow
1994 - Venice Biennale. The group is presented by the Sprovieri Gallery
1988 – “Baths” (exhibition-action). Avant-gardists Club. Sandunovsky Baths, Gents, Moscow
1987/88 – “In Hell” (exhibition-action). Avant-gardists Club, Moscow
1987 – First exhibition of Avant-gardists Club (CLAVA). Moscow
1987 – “Cubism”. Avant-gardists Club. Vrubel Gallery, Moscow
1987 – “Retrospective of Moscow Artistss Works 1957-1987”. Amateur Association “Hermitage”, Moscow 1986 – “Art versus Commerce” (exhibition-action). Bitsa Park, Moscow 1984 – “Odessa-Moscow”. APTART Gallery, Moscow 1983 – “Come Yesterday and Youll Be the First”. City Without Walls: Urban Artists Collective Inc. Contemporary Russian Art Center of America. New York, New Jersey, New York, USA
1983 – “APTART in Nature”. Kalistovo, Moscow Region
1983 – “APTART behind a Fence”. Tarasovka, Moscow Region
1982 – First APTART Exhibition. APTART Gallery, Moscow
1981/82 – “Russian New Wave”. Contemporary Russian Art Center of America. Soho. International Art Center. New York, USA

The Pole of Cold. "Inspection Medical Hermeneutics" and Russian Art of the 90s "Catalogue" – Paris: ENSBA, 2000;
Anufriev S., Pepperstein P. Mythogenic Love of Casts. – М.: Ad Marginem, 1998.