CENTER FOR CURATORIAL STUDIES MUSEUM DIRECTOR AMADA CRUZ WILL GIVE SPECIAL TOURS OF RUSSIAN ARTIST ILYA KABAKOV'S EXHIBITION Ilya Kabakov: 1968–1998 features largest presentation of Kabakov's works in United States
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y—Amada Cruz, director of the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum at Bard College, will give special tours of the exhibition, Ilya Kabakov: 1968–1998, on Fridays in July. The exhibition, which presents the largest selection of works by Russian artist Ilya Kabakov ever to be shown in the United States, features early drawings, major installations, paintings, and sculptures. The exhibition tours will take place on Fridays, July 14, 21, and 28, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the museum's lobby. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Both the exhibition and special tours are free and open to the public.
The installations by Kabakov 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 1968 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 original "Albums," a multipart 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 1968, 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 called 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.
For further information about the exhibition and the special exhibition tours, call the Center for Curatorial Studies at 845-758-7598 or e-mail [email protected].
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