Description
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, a couple in both art and life, since 1989, currently live and work in New York. Ilya graduated in 1957 in Graphic Design from the V. Surikov Moscow State Academy Art Institute, making his debut as a children’s book illustrator and
participating in the activities of a group of conceptual artists working outside the Soviet art system. Emilia, on the other hand, after having studied Spanish language and literature at Moscow University, lived first in Israel and then in the United States, where she began working as a curator and art dealer. Although deeply steeped in the history of Russian culture and art, Ilya and
Emilia Kabakov tackle contemporary universal themes, as in the case of "Where Is Our Place?". The installation involves two gigantic characters, dressed in late-19th century garments, intent on gazing at old paintings on the walls. The summit of these works, like that of the characters, is hidden from view by the ceiling, while at the height of the eye of the visitor are many more smaller squares in which a photograph is placed next to a text. Under the floor, with a further twist in dimensions, models of landscapes are placed in relation to the public which is oversized. Through the combination of three different dimensional scales and the same number of historical periods, the Kabakovs propose an unusual journey through time and space, to suggest a
collective critical reflection on relativity, especially that of contemporary art, its value and its use in comparison to the art of past.