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June 25 through September 3, 2000 Images of the "Ilya Kabakov: 1969–1998" exhibition. The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College will present the largest exhibition of works by Russian artist Ilya Kabakov ever to be shown in the United States. Works on view in Ilya Kabakov: 1969–1998 include early drawings, major installations, paintings, and sculptures.
Kabakov will install a series of works throughout the Center's museum. These installations are drawn from a variety of sources, including the John L. Stewart Collection, the largest private collection of works by Kabakov. Among the works in the exhibition, which range in date from 1969 to 1998, are some that have rarely or never before been exhibited in the United States. The never exhibited works are: a selection of the "Albums," a multi-part painting entitled "Fragments," (1983), and the installations, "The Red Corner" (1983) and "Reverse" (1998). Ilya Kabakov was born in the Ukraine in 1933 and graduated from the Moscow Art School in 1951. He worked as a children's book illustrator for many years while he produced unofficial artwork, a series of "drawings for myself." He rose to international prominence as one of the leading members of a group of dissident artists known as the Moscow conceptualists. A playful irony and narrative have always characterized his work. The approaches and themes of Kabakov's mature work can be traced to a series of "Albums" he began in 1969, in which he develops fictional characters, such as misunderstood artists and documents their thoughts and others' comments on their works.
Kabakov's installations are complex environments. He calls them "total installations." "An installation is the work of art and . . . its own exhibition . . a world its own." They immerse viewers in other worlds such as communal Soviet apartments, the studio of an untalented artist, or an old Russian school. Humorous and often melancholy narratives in the form of texts on paintings or drawings add to the poignancy of his work. Ilya Kabakov's work was first shown in the west in 1965, during a group exhibition at the Castello Spagnolo in L'Aquila, Italy, and was subsequently included in exhibitions throughout Europe. Kabakov was awarded a grant by the Kunstverein in Salzburg in 1986, and soon afterward he permanently left the Soviet Union; he now lives in the United States. His work has been exhibited throughout the world, including the following exhibitions: Document IX (1992), the Venice Biennale (1993 and 1997), the Centre Georges Pompidou (1995), Skulptur Projekte Munster (1997), and a retrospective exhibition at the Kunstmuseum, Bern (1999). Kabakov has created installations for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. (1990); Museum of Modern Art, New York (1991); and Whitney Biennial (1997); among others. He is the recipient of the Joseph Beuys Prize, Joseph Beuys Foundation, Basel; the Chevalier of Fine Arts Medal, Ministry of Culture, Paris; Art Critics Association Award, New York; and the Kaiserring Träger, Stadt Goslar, among others. This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Robert W. Wilson. Amanda Cruz, director of the museum and curator of the exhibition, will give special tours of this exhibition in July. These tours will take place on Fridays, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the museum lobby and last about 45 minutes. The tours are free and open to the public. Museum
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Exhibitions are
free and open to the public. |
