Communiqué de presse

Ilya Kabakov
17 April–17 July 1994

Born in 1933 in Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine (Soviet Union), Ilya Kabakov now divides his time between Moscow, New York and Paris. Trained as a graphic artist, he took naturally to the form of the album in the 1970s, one of the finest examples of his work in this medium being “My Mother’s Album.” As his work developed, he began putting together installations in the 1980s, becoming a fervent advocate of that particular form. In addition to his other work, Kabakov has always painted, too. Also a writer, a layout specialist and designer of “scenes,” he is a fully rounded artist whose practice is bound up with the great tendencies of the time. While his works were first exhibited in the West during group shows of the 1960s, it was his solo show at the Bern Kunsthalle in 1985 (followed by Marseille, Düsseldorf and Paris in 1986) that established his international reputation and saw him begin to exhibit regularly. In 1987 and 1993, his work was shown in Venice Biennial, in 1990 in Sydney Biennial and in 1992 at Documenta 9.

His works always refer to text, narrative, the work of memory and his own life.

Golden Underground River (created in 1990 at the Pecci Contemporary Art Museum, Prato). A journey along an invisible river, as evoked by a gold thread punctuated by 186 music stands holding drawings and fragments of texts. The installation as a whole has the form of a human body.

The Boat of My Life (created in 1993 at the Kunstverein, Salzburg). The wooden hull of a large boat, its deck cluttered with crates full of the artist’s personal possessions, among which visitors are free to move. This work is another metaphor of the artist’s life, and of life in general.

My Mother’s Album (created in 1988 at Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York) In this work the life of the artist’s mother is related to images of Russian provincial towns. Originally conceived as an “album”, the installation takes the form of a maze of gloomy corridors. Life as an offence, experienced both through narrative and movement in a stifling space.

This exhibition was produced with the kind collaboration of the Salzburger Kunstverein, Holzbau Essl, Mondsee, Austria, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Grenoble.