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  AVVAKUMOV, Yuriy Igorevich 

 Biographical information 
 
Architect, artist, curator.
Born in Tiraspol in 1957.
Graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute in 1981.
Takes part in art/architectural exhibitions since 1982.
Starts AGITARCH studio in 1988.
Established UTOPIA FOUNDATION in 1993.
In 1984 - reintroduced the term PAPER ARCHITECTURE to describe the genre of conceptual design in the USSR of the 1980s.
Since 1984 - organizes exhibitions of PAPER
ARCHITECTURE in Moscow (Youth magazine, 1984 / Moscow Architectural Institute, 1992 / State Museum of Architecture, 1994), Ljubljana (SCUC, 1986), Paris (La Villette, 1988), Milan (Palazzo dell`Arte, 1988), Frankfurt (Deutsches Architekturmuseum, 1989), Cologne (Linssen, 1991), Brussels (Foundation pour l`Architecture, 1990), Zürich (Architekturforum, 1990), Cambridge (List Visual Arts Center, MIT, 1990), New Orleans (Contemporary Arts Center, 1991), Austin (Huntington Gallery,1991), Amherst (Fine Arts Center, 1992), Volgograd (Museum/Exhibition Center, 1997) etc.
Takes part at the Venice Biennale in 1996 (SENSING THE FUTURE. ARCHITECT AS SEISMOGRAPH) and 2003 (UTOPIA STATION).
In 2000-03 - curates PHOTOPROGRAM 24 of 36 exhibitions of urban/architectural photography, hosted by the State Museum of Architecture and Moscow House of Photography.
In 2007 - curates BORNHOUSE exhibition at Vkhutemas Gallery, Moscow (during 2nd Biennale of Contemporary Art) and Peter’n’Paul fortress museum, St Petersburg, in 2008 - San Stae cathedral , Venice (during 11th Biennale of Architecture), in 2009 - St Marie Madeleine cathedral, Lille (during Europe XXL festival).
personal site of artist: www.avvakumov.com
 

 Collections where works are held 
 
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt-on-Main
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
ZKM Museum of New Art, Karlsruhe
Moderna galerija, Ljubljana / Stella Art Foundation etc.
 

 Participation in exhibitions and auctions 
 
Selected personal exhibitions:

2007 GAMES. Stella Art Foundation, Moscow
2006 RED CORNER. Stella Art Gallery, Moscow
2005 La SCALA. Krokin Gallery, Moscow
2000 MiSCeLLaNeouS. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
1999 A. S. PUSHKIN AND MONEY. XL Gallery, Moscow
1996-2000 RUSSIAN UTOPIA: A DEPOSITORY. Russian Pavilion, Venice Biennale / Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam / State Museum of Architecture, Moscow / Museum and Exhibition Center,Volgograd / State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
1994 1:43. Karlheinz Meyer Gallery, Karlsruhe
1992-93 TEMPORARY MONUMENTS. Russian Museum, St. Petersburg /State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
1992 ILLIQUID ASSETS (with Sergey Shutov), 1st Gallery, Moscow

Selected Group exhibitons:

2009 MOSKVAPOLIS. Perm Museum of Contemporary Art
2008 RUSSIAN DREAMS... Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach
DISCOVERY OF LIGHT. State Central Museum of Modern History of Russia, Moscow
KULIBIN. Krokin Gallery, Moscow
PERSYMPHANS. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
TUNGUSKA EXPLOSIVE. Krasnoyarsk Museum Center
BORNHOUSE. XI International Exhibition of Architecture, Chiesa di San Stae, Venice
2007 KANDINSKY PRIZE. VinZavod, Moscow
DESIGN OF SIBERIA. 7th Museum Biennale, Krasnoyarsk
BAROCCO. Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art
10 TRIENNALE KLEINPLASTIK FELLBACH, Fellbach
2006 ARTISTS AGAINST THE STATE: PERESTROIKA REVISITED. Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York
ARCHSTOYANIE. Open-air festival, Nikola-Lenivets village
DEPOSITORY OF DREAMS. White Space Gallery, London
2005 RE:MODERN. Kunstlerhaus, Wien
ESSENCE OF LIFE. Ludwig Museum, Budapest /State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
BARBIEZONE. RuArt Gallery, Moscow
MIRACLE OF LIGHT. New Manege, Moscow
ACCOMPLICES, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
2004 IMAGINE LIMERICK. City Gallery of Art, Limerick
MALIGN MUSES. Mode Museum, Antwerp

Selected curatorial projects:

2009 BORNHOUSE, église Sainte Marie-Madeleine, Lille
2008 GARAGE. Introductory Exhibition, GCCC, Moscow
BORNHOUSE. San Stae, Venice Biennale of Architecture
DIESE OBSKURE OBJEKT: KUNST. Kunshistorische Museum, Wien
2007 ARABESQUE(s). Pirogovo, Moscow suburb
2005 PLAYGROUND. ArtPlay Gallery, Moscow
2002 VANISHING POINT. Moscow House of the Artist
2000 BEYOND THE FALL. Royal Festival Hall, London
1998 EPOPEE OF THE GREAT EPOCH. Pavillon des`Arts, Paris

Selected exhibition design:

2009 ART WITHOUT BORDERS, Palace of Nations, Geneva
INNOVATION PRIZE, NCCA, Moscow
RED ARMY STUDIO. InterRos, Moscow // FRAGILE. Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt/Main // MEANDER. Pirogovo, Moscow suburb
RUSSIAN DREAMS... Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach
NAIVE (HI)STORY, State Museum of Architecture, MoscowRED ARMY STUDIO. InterRos, Moscow
 

 Autobiographical notes 
 
 

 What the critics say 
 
Yuri Avvakumov, an architect by education and avocation, and conceptual artist and exhibition designer by profession, who exhibits regularly but sparingly, has gathered together works from over 20 years. Not all of them, but a selection, since Avvakumov is an absolute perfectionist, he loves doing everything precisely, intelligently and beautifully to the point of sterility. It is impossible to practise as an architect with such a nature for modern Russian architectural practice demands many concessions in taste, quality, and even in common sense. But an architect may create their ideal world in designs and maquettes, playing with associations, and speculating in cultural stereotypes.
Olga Kabanova, Moscow. Vedomosti 2006

The spirit of Russian Constructivism and much of its imagery carried on in the minds of Elia Zenghelis, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid in their early work, seemed to have harmed them very little. Modern Russia seems to have both a love and hate relationship to it, perhaps for its political resonance, yet one quiet respectably democratic Russian, Yuri Avvakumov, seems to have captured and continued its spirit as well as imagery. The 1970s and 1980s experienced the emergence of so-called `paper architects` in Russia - none of whom had the chance to build, but they drew and drew. Cut of the most of the Western experimentalists, their work carried with it a certain heroicism that demanded of it a high degree of imagery. Very much abstracted from the need to build, it was poetic and slightly winsome in character.
Peter Cook “Drawing, the motive force of architecture”. Great Britain, 2008
 

 Bibliography 
 
Architecture de Papier d`URSS. Paris: L`Exposition de la Grande Halle de La Vilette. Paris, 1988.
The Paper Architecture of Russia // Special Feature, Space Design ¹4. April 1993.
561 Architects in the World. Tokyo, 1995.
Brand, Janselijn. Architecture and Imagination. Zwolle, 1989.
Andrew Solomon. Paper Tsars // Harper`s Queen (London). February 1990.
Constantin Boym. La Torre Rossa // MODO (Milan). October 1990. # 126.
Michael Govan. Temporary Monuments: Ascent and Descent // World Architecture (London). 1991. # 15.
Peter Cook and Neil Spiller. The Power of Contemporary Architecture. Academy Editions (London). 1999
 

* - This information has been provided by the Soros Center for Contemporary

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