Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: the pioneers of the total installation Review of the artist's exhibition in Salzburg by Jegors Jerohomovičs

‘Art won't save the world, but it can help create a dialogue.’ 

Salzburg hosts the  exhibition Kammermusik (Chamber Music) by the pioneers of the total installation and conceptual art Ilya and Emilia Kabakov

The Thaddaeus Ropac gallery at Villa Kast in Salzburg presents a selection of historical works by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov - paintings by Ilya Kabakov created between 2005 and 2015, as well as installations created collaboratively by the Kabakov couple from 1989 until Ilya Kabakov’s death in 2023. Each installation is a carefully crafted composition combining objects, drawings and paintings, texts, lighting and sound. These works are designed to fully immerse the viewer in an experience that reflects the central idea of Kabakov’s oeuvre: the total installation. Their conceptual art is open to interpretation, encompassing political allusions, personal fears and desires, as well as a longing to escape from the harsh, sometimes unbearable reality of everyday life.

At the opening of the Salzburg exhibition on 7 June, gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac told DIENA that he first met Ilya Kabakov when the artist was living in Graz, and they worked together for more than 35 years. ‘This exhibition is a selection of historical works. Some of them have been exhibited in major museums around the world, and now in this exhibition Emilia gives them a new context - they are shown in a new light. This is a very emotional exhibition for our gallery, as it brings back some of the works we have previously exhibited in Paris and London, but it is the first time they are being shown in Salzburg. They have been created over several decades,’ said Thaddaeus Ropac. ‘A few days ago, Emilia came from New York to set up the exhibition. The Kabakovs’ works are installations, so you have to rethink their placement every time. You can't just put pieces of a broken chandelier on the floor and think that everything is done and it will have an effect on the viewer,’ added the gallerist.

On the opening day, the gallery hosted a conversation between Emilia Kabakov and Kabakov connoisseur and curator Séamus Kealy. From 2014 to 2023, Kealy was the director of the Kunstverein Salzburg. He is now the director of the Oakville Galleries in Canada, a contemporary art museum located thirty kilometres from Toronto. Since the end of May, the Oakville Galleries have been hosting the Kabakov exhibition Between Heaven and Earth. It will be on view until 20 September.

‘We have a long history with Salzburg. We have had exhibitions here since 1990, we have been teachers at the Summer Academy and we have worked with the Thaddaeus Ropac for many years. We love this city and the music festival here. At the time when we were lecturing at the Academy, we asked for festival tickets instead of a salary. We worked with the students in the morning and went to hear operas and concerts in the evening,’ recalls Emilia Kabakova.