Contemporary Art Gallery

Ilya Kabakov: Life and Creativity of Charles Rosenthal

August 7 (Sat.),1999,to November 3 (Wed.),1999

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© Ilya Kabakov 1999　Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito　photo: Tsuyoshi Saito

Ilya Kabakov (1933- ), an artist from Ukraine in the former Soviet Union, went to the West, before the end of the Cold War, to concentrate on creative work. His large-scale installation works called "total installation," have been highly regarded in the art circles in the West since his first one-person show was held in Bern in 1985.

Ilya Kabakov, who is now based in New York, continued actively working in Europe and North America. Today he is one of the most highly regarded artists in the world. In recent years, his most common style is a poetic fantasy expressed in two-dimensional works, or a dreamy world, (as if he were searching his memory of childhood), displayed in installation works.

His new paintings are featured in this solo exhibition at Art Tower Mito, and "Charles Rosenthal" in the title is his fictitious artist's name. The exhibition, which is planned to match the space of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito, employs a unique multi-faceted display of a variety of paintings, in a retrospective form, created by Rosenthal in his short life.

The assumption is that Charles Rosenthal, who was good at acquiring techniques and skills, was influenced by the trends of the early 20th century, tried many different ways of expression, and died young. Based on that assumption, Ilya Kabakov created paintings to develop the story in the exhibition. From the end of the 19th century till the beginning of the 20th century, when Rosenthal lived, the avant-garde art movement peaked in Russia. Therefore, this exhibition can be said to present a fundamental issue regarding artists and expression, by depicting a historical background of artistic development as well as a personal history.
Ilya Kabakov thinks representation of words and narrative style of paintings are very important, and in a corner of the exhibition, his recent books and materials are arranged like a library.