Sergeï Mikhailovich Chepik was born in Kiev, in a familly of russian artists. His father Mikhail Maksimovich Chepik (painter) and his mother Ludmila Davydovna Sabaneeva were both members of USSR Artists' Union. He was descendant of an ancient russian nobility family from his mother. The portrait of his ancestor, Ivan Vassilievich Sabaneev, can be seen in Saint Petersburg, at the State Hermitage Museum. Taught by his parents, he started drawing and painting at 5 years old, then from 1961 to 1971, he attended classes in a Secondary School specialized in Art, where he got an excellent artistic and literary education. In 1917, he started going to Shevchenko Art institute in Kiev, that he leaved at his father death in 1973 to enter the prestigious Repine Institute of Leningrad (former Imperial Academy of Arts of saint Petersburg). Like his favorite writer Mikhail Boulganov, he kept nostalgic memories of a happy childhood in the ''Mother of russian cities'', where he never came back. In the Repine Institute, he was acepted to the monumental paintings class under the teaching of the academician Andrej Andreevich Mylnikov, who was himself a student of Igor Grabar. He spent 5 years learning with broadminded and demanding masters, from whom he inherited his taste for professionalism, excellency and respect for artisitc legacy from the past centuries. In 1978, he gratuated, was admitted to The Leningrad Young artists Union and participated to national and international exhibitions showing the works of young painters in USSR and abroad. From 1978 to 1981, he worked in Mylnikov's studio to improve his skills, especially composition, then he went to several parts of Russia to paint outdoor and enable him to assert himself and get free from his master's influence. He painted a large amount of landscapes, gathered in cycles such as Staraya Ladoga. But Monumental compositions interested him the most, and during this period he painted The Tree, Petrushka, and above all the House of the Dead. Indeed, even though he was a member of the Russian Artists Union, he worked and lived out of its systems, and refused soviet ideology. He avoided any command from the State that he juged too political or uninteressting. Moreover, he could not make a living from his paintings since he was not supported by publics autorities, and thought about leaving USSR to be able to exhibit hi paintings. He was given the oppotunity when he met Marie-Aude Albert, a teacher from France in Leningrad University who liked his paintings. With her help, he took all of his works and left USSR for France in 1988. They got married in 1992. He discoverd Paris with enthusiasm, as conveys ''L'Ange Blanc de Notre-Dame'', ''La Parisienne'', ''Hommage à l'Odalisque d'Indres'', ''La Reine de la Nuit'' . But he also discovered the occidental art market, that promoted conceptual art and looked down on his painting. He realized very quickly that, in France, freedom is taken from the artists by the art market and refused to obey to fashion and the laws of supply and demand. He decided to stay true to his artistical belief, as he did back in USSR. In 1988, he received ''Le Grand prix du Salon d'Automne'' for his painting ''The House of the Dead'', as opposed to official institutions, the public was interested in his works. But it was in London that he had opportunities. Roy Miles Gallery in London, specialized in russian and soviet art, got interessted in Chepik's works. Every year from 1989 to 1997, he exhibited .works in the 29 Bruton Street gallery. After his first retrospective exhbition in 1990, a couple of personnal exhibition ensured his succes and enabled him to work freely. From 1997 to 2011, he exhibited in Catto Gallery in London, with success. He worked relentlessly, despite his worsening health from 2008. He died from a heart attack in his studio in 2011, and was burried in Montmartre graveyard. Chepik was a real Art history conoisseur, and admired the old masters like Michelangelo, Velasquez, Goya, Rembrandt and Titian, who were inspirations for him. He mastered every technique from watercolor to oil painting, as well as ceramics, sculpture, etching, thanks to his academical education. He could paint every genre, from portrait to composition, but also landscapes and still lifes.