Fallen Sky 2006

lacquer on plastic, wood and metal

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov are Ukrainian-born artists living in America who collaborate on environments that combine everyday elements with conceptual ones. Although their work is deeply rooted in the Soviet social and cultural context in which the Kabakovs came of age, their work still takes on a universal significance.

Ilya Kabakov studied at the VA Surikov Art Academy in Moscow and started his career as an illustrator of children’s books in the 1950s. He was part of a group of conceptual artists in Moscow who worked outside the official Soviet art system. Emilia Kabakov (née Lekach) attended the Music College in Irkutsk and studied Spanish language and literature at Moscow University. She emigrated to Israel in 1973 and moved to New York in 1975, where she worked as a curator and art dealer. Emilia has been working side by side with Ilya since 1989.

‘The Fallen Sky’ is one of the few installations by both artists designed for the open air. A huge panel of 7.00 x 8.00 meters that seems to stick into the grass at one point and a story that refers to the Russian origin of this piece of heaven. And with this installation from 2006, the artist has also sought a connection between Russia and the West.

* thanks to: Courtesy Deweer Gallery Estate, Otegem, Belgium