The Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

On view April 20th, 2018, through July 29th, 2018

The Hermitage State Museum is pleased to present an exhibition by pioneering conceptual artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. Russian-born and American-based, today they are recognized as among the most significant international artists to have emerged in the late 20th century.

Other exhibitions at The Hermitage State Museum include “The Ilya Kabakov Room” and “Red Wagon.”

The Ilya Kabakov Room, devoted to the conceptual artist and creator of the “total installation” genre born in 1933, contains two fairly small installations: Toilet in the Corner and In the Closet, that the artist presented to the Hermitage in 2004. Kabakov addresses the realm of the personal, intimate and private, asking how one should “build and preserve a wall between oneself and others”. In the accompanying text, the artist tells about sitting for a long time in a cupboard or hiding in the lavatory so as to find a refuge from the realities of Soviet communal life.