Another great event happening at the Van Abbemuseum is the joint exhibition between Ilya and Emiia Kabakov and El Lissitzky. This display showcases, for the first time, two of the most important Russian artists of the 20th century. Their work is a wide overview of Russian history starting with the revolutions at the beginning of the 1900s and finishing with the collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989. The work of Lissitzky and Kabakov give viewers the opportunity to see and reflect on the art, politics and culture during the difficult intervening years or Russian history. It is a great opportunity for art goers to discover a different world of art from such a rich and interesting part of Russian history. This collaboration includes some works from the State Tretyakov in Moscow, Centre Pompidou, private collections from the artists and even reproductions from the Kabakov collection. The exhibition is one of the most ambitious events in the history of the Van Abbemusem, so come out and enjoy a wonderful day of Russian art! For more information on the exhibition, visit their website.

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The Van Abbemuseum asked the artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov to organise an exhibition of their work together with that of El Lissitzky, as guest curators. The State Tretyakov Galery, the Guggenheim Museum and Centre Pompidou as well as some private collectors provided the exhibition with a number of interesting works. Some installations were renovated specially on the occasion of the current exhibition.
The exhibition is part of the Dutch – Russian bilateral year and travels to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Multimedia Art Museum (MAMM) in Moscow in 2013.

The Van Abbemuseum asked the artists Ilya (b. 1933) and Emilia (b. 1945) Kabakov to organise an exhibition of their work together with that of El Lissitzky (1890–1941), as guest curators. For the Lissitzky – Kabakov exhibition, they made an extensive selection from their own work and that of Lissitzky. It is the first time that the oeuvres of these famous 20th-century Russian artists are being presented together. Bringing together Lissitzky and the Kabakovs completes the circle which started with the revolutions in the early years of the twentieth century and finished with the upheavals of 1989. The confrontation between early Soviet art and that of the later Soviet era presents opportunities for a better understanding of the art and culture of the intervening period. In addition to works from the collection of the Kabakovs and the Van Abbemuseum, there will be loans from the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and Centre Pompidou in Paris, as well as from a number of private collections. Some of the Kabakovs' installations have also been recreated for this occasion.

Two sides of the Soviet coin : Lissitzky's enthusiasm for the revolution and his involvement in the new social order is present everywhere in the exhibition. In contrast, one constantly comes across the Kabakovs' melancholic but also humorous representation and interpretation of the conditions of the late Soviet era. The mother country of both the artists had become a place where the rhetoric of progress had run aground on the everyday reality of life in that society. Nevertheless, it proved possible to re-emerge from this twilight zone.

Publication : There is a detailed catalogue available in Dutch and English for the exhibition, with an in-depth article by the Kabakov expert Professors Boris Groys, an imaginary interview with Lissitzky by Professor John Milner, an expert in avant-garde Russian art, and an interview with Ilya and Emilia Kabakov by the artist Anton Vidokle. All the works in the exhibition are shown in colour, arranged in accordance with the themes in the exhibition. Finally, the book contains an illustrated image biography of the artists.

Guest curators : Ilya and Emilia Kabakov | Curator Van Abbemuseum : Charles Esche | Project leader Van Abbemuseum : Willem Jan Renders

The exhibition is part of NLRF2013, the Dutch – Russian year and is scheduled to travel to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Multimedia Art Museum (MAMM) in Moscow in 2013.

For more information on Lissitzky – Kabakov, Utopia and Reality you can visit www.vanabbemuseum.nl
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The exhibition is made possible with the support of Ammodo, BankGiro Loterij, Mondriaan Fund, SNS REAAL Fonds, Turing Foundation and VSB Fonds.