Nad 'Portikusom' (Komarov who flew away)
Ilya Kabakov
Life Story
Figures in flight, hovering above the Soviet urban landscapes are a recurring theme in Ilya Kabakov’s early work. Suspended between a dream and reality, the figures are infused with references to Kabakov’s experiences of collective society and utopianism in the USSR. The fictional character Komorov features in one of the albums of narrative drawings that Kabakov produced in Moscow in the 1970s, titled The Flying Komorov.
Kabakov left Moscow in the mid-1980s and settled in New York in 1987. He began exhibiting his drawings, paintings and complex installations widely in this period, including early exhibitions at Riverside Studios and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1989.
Lisa Newby, June 2022
Provenance
In October 1984, the University of East Anglia accepted a planned bequest from Joyce and Michael Morris (UEA Alumni). Michael died in 2009 and Joyce in December 2014 when the couple's wishes were implemented.
Not on display
Title/Description: Nad 'Portikusom' (Komarov who flew away)
Artist/Maker: Ilya Kabakov
Born: 1988
Object Type: Print
Materials: Paper
Accession Number: 31612
Historic Period: 20th century
Credit Line: Bequeathed by Joyce and Michael Morris, 2014
