On the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Tate Modern presents the first major UK retrospective of the pioneering Russian-born artists, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, and a host of rare propaganda posters, prints and photographs in Red Star Over Russia.
In this conversation, we delve deeper into the philosophy and politics behind the art displayed in these exhibitions with Peter Osborne, Professor of Modern European Philosopher at Kingston University, London and celebrated Russian artist Vadim Zakharov, who began his career in the circle of Moscow Conceptualists alongside Ilya Kabakov.
Drawing on the themes explored in Osborne’s forthcoming title ‘The Postconceptual Condition’, this talk will consider the politics of art and art institutions in relation to the changing temporal conditions of capitalist modernity. Chaired by Natalia Sidlina, curator of Red Star Over Russia and Adjunct Research Curator, Russian Art, supported by the V-A-C Foundation at Tate, this is an unparalleled opportunity to better understand the contemporary context and intertwined histories behind these landmark exhibitions.
Biographies
Peter Osborne is a Professor in and Director of the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP), Kingston University London. His books include:The Politics of Time (1995; 2011), Philosophy in Cultural Theory (2000), Conceptual Art (2002), Anywhere or Not at All: Philosophy of Contemporary Art (2013) and The Postconceptual Condition – published by Verso in January 2018.
Vadim Zakharov was born in Dushanbe, Soviet Union in 1959. He is a prolific theorist, archivist and historian in addition to being a leading figure of Moscow Conceptualism. In the many decades of his career, Zakharov has produced installations, performances, videos, and objects. Since 1978, he has participated in exhibitions of Unofficial Art, a movement in reaction against Soviet Socialist Realism, in favour of highlighting discord in Soviet Russian life. Zakharov also works in reaction to what he considers fundamental trademarks of Russian art—icon painting and the avant-garde. His works are sometimes based on archives, religion, or history; they have included photo and video documentaries of exhibitions, encounters, and his own activities. Zakharov lives and works between Moscow and Berlin.
In partnership with Verso.
This event has been provided by Tate Gallery on behalf of Tate Enterprises LTD.