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| Erik Bulatov, Entrance No Entrance 1973, Crayon on paper, 9.6 x 9.8 in |
Born in Sverdlovsk in 1933 and was raised in Moscow. He began his studies at the Moscow School of Art and graduated the Surikov Institute in 1958. After working several years as a children’s book illustrator for the State, Bulatov got disillusioned. The creative and political restrictions of his position inspired him to begin making unofficial works of art. In the 1960s Bulatov formed the Sretensky Boulevard Group with Ilya Kabakov, Eduard Shteinberg, Vladimir Yankilevsky, and Viktor Pivovarov. Through the Sretensky Boulevard Group, Bulatov became a prominent member of the loosely affiliated Moscow Conceptualists. This group, related ideologically rather than stylistically, has defined the “Moscow School” of contemporary Russian art as it is known today. Bulatov’s subject matter is broad. Equally broad is his perception of the government’s role in the classification and control of everything.
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Bulatov symbolizes the government through his use of language as a system of order and control. It is in this sense that Bulatov’s paintings may take on a more universal accuracy and a more populist appeal. His works are in The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg; Tretyakov gallery, Moscow; many other leading museums and prominent collections of Russia, Europe and America.
Literature: Igor Golomshtok & Alexander Gleser, Soviet Art in Exile, 1977, p.9, N°8, illustrated.
Museum of Soviet Unofficial Art, catalogue, 1980, p.53, illustrated. Gail Gelburd, Silent Scream from the Russian Underground, 1995, illustrated.
Pinakothe˜ke˜ , N°22 –23 , 2006, p.105, N°25, illustrated. |
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