In the closet

About the exhibition

The Moscow Museum of Modern Art is pleased to present In the Closet an exhibition that continues the series of research projects on Moscow conceptualism. Previously, the exhibitions Memories of APTART and Alienation Mechanism were held as part of the Collection. Vantage Point programme.

The new exhibition explores the theme of personal space, both physical and mental, as well as the artists' dwellings and the character of their art. The starting point of the exhibition is the image of Sitting-in-the-Closet Primakov – one of the characters in Ilya Kabakov's albums, who from childhood lived in the limited space of the wardrobe of his parents' flat, and then disappeared.

The motif of a cramped room is a defining feature of the discourse of the entire generation of Moscow conceptualists: closed spaces, wardrobes, closed window bindings, boxes and drawers are vestiges that constrain the creator. Exiting into a different space is, accordingly, a sign of parting with them. The exhibition invites the viewer into the world of characters who strive to overcome the dumbness and confinement of personal spaces, to find their own voice and the path to self-determination. The characters of Moscow conceptualism are not so much a product of the artist's imagination as independent images that live at the crossroads of several cultural and communicative dimensions.

The project brings together works by artists of different generations and trends, such as Alina Glazun, Anya Zhelud, Ilya Kabakov, Ivan Chuikov, Georgy Kiesewalter, Oleg Vasiliev and others. Thus there are paradoxical ‘rhymes’ with the main ‘album’ line, both literary and verbal line. The exhibition space resembles a total installation, where more than 50 artworks are juxtaposed with archival materials and photo-documentation of the personal spaces of the conceptualist artists.

Curator

Olga Turchina

About the programme

Collection. Vantage Point is a long-term exhibition program developed specifically for the MMOMA Education Center in addition to the series of large-scale thematic exhibitions that have become emblematic for the museum. One of the program’s distinguishing features is a different, more focused and intimate approach to the study and demonstration of museum collections, as well as a much more dynamic rhythm of the exhibition. The program combines exhibitions of various types — from monographic and archival to interdisciplinary. Intended to explore individual segments of the collection, these essentially laboratory projects often address private, non-mainstream, artistic subjects and allow new exhibition solutions to be tested. The program provides an opportunity to consider a wide range of phenomena — names, trends, images and ideas in the Russian art of the XX-XXI centuries from different positions and perspectives. In turn, the museum collection itself serves as a unique resource and a convenient ‘vantage point’ for talking about art, history, science, and culture in general.

The program was launched at the end of 2017 and is implemented by the curatorial staff of the Research Department of MMOMA. The program is authored by Andrey Egorov and Anna Arutyunyan.