Distortions: Moscow Conceptualists Working Today

Moscow Conceptualism began as an alternative underground art world in the late Soviet Union. Its unofficial status shaped its artistic methods and theoretical framework. Distortions: Moscow Conceptualists Working Today includes original objects, archival materials, and working models of original artworks, alongside new projects created by Moscow Conceptualists in collaboration with art and art history students and faculty at Hunter College. The exhibition is an experiment in intergenerational and cross-cultural collaboration. It aims to transform the gallery into a two-month long forum exploring how existing artworks can be activated to create new living situations, and how documents can be used beyond the preservation of the past. 

Participating artists and art groups: Yuri Albert (born 1959 in Moscow, lives and works in Cologne), Collective Actions (active 1976–present), Gnezdo (active 1974–79), Sabine Hänsgen (born 1955 in Düsseldorf, lives and works in Bochum, Germany), Andrei Monastyrski (born 1949 in Pechenga, Russia, lives and works in Moscow), Victor Skersis (born 1956 in Moscow, lives and works in Bethlehem, PA), Nadezhda Stolpovskaya (born 1959 in Moscow, lives and works in Cologne, Germany), SZ Group (active 1980-84, 1989, 1990), Vadim Zakharov (born 1959 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, lives and works in Berlin, Germany).

Distortions: Moscow Conceptualists Working Today was curated by Hunter College professors Daniel Bozhkov and Joachim Pissarro with Dr. Olga Zaikina and Graduate Curatorial Fellow Victoria Borisova. The exhibition was developed through a two-semester graduate curatorial seminar which included studio art students: Lauren Cline, Tucker Claxton, LeLe Dai, Paula De Martino, Alicia Ehni, Stevie Knauss, Milly Skelington, Johnny Sagan; and art history students: Caitlin Anklam, Victoria Borisova, Jay Bravo, Andrea Dauhajre, Curtis Eckley, Daniel Kuzinez, Jake Robinson. Visiting scholar: Virginia Marano, PhD Candidate, University of Zürich. 

Publication
In concert with the exhibition, the Hunter College Art Galleries are producing a new publication (for release in October) which describes the past and the new projects of Moscow Conceptualists presented at the exhibition and chronicles the development of the concept of the show over the two-semester long graduate curatorial seminar.

Hunter College Art Galleries
The Hunter College Art Galleries have been a vital part of the New York cultural landscape since their inception over forty years ago. Under the auspices of the Department of Art and Art History, the galleries provide a space for critical engagement with art and pedagogy, bringing together historical scholarship, contemporary artistic practice, and experimental methodology. The 205 Hudson Gallery is dedicated to presenting exhibitions and programming that examine the impact of and critical issues around contemporary art. Located in Tribeca on Hunter’s MFA Studio Art Campus, the gallery also hosts the MFA thesis exhibitions each semester.

For more information about exhibitions and public programs visit: huntercollegeartgalleries.org.

Press contact
Tara Ohanian, Hunter College Art Galleries, to223 [​at​] hunter.cuny.edu