The exhibition has been organized by The State Hermitage Museum, in the collaboration with the Kolodzei Art Foundation (USA), Atellier II Gallery of Art ( Moscow ), Kultur Kontakt Foundation ( Vienna , Austria ), Pechatny Dvor Printers ( St. Petersburg ), Dean Publishers ( St. Petersburg ) and Free Culture Foundation ( St. Petersburg ).
Vadim Voinov was born 1940 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg ) and lives and works in St. Petersburg . In his works, Voinov uses a technique he himself created--functional collage--intended to reconstruct the history of Czarist, revolutionary, Soviet and contemporary Russia . In the 1960’s and 1970’s Voinov studied the history of early St. Petersburg architecture. An art historian himself, he published articles and undertook archeological expeditions. His devotion to archeology and understanding of the significance of each object introduced into his work a historical significance. He developed functional collage beginning in 1979. The objects used in Voinov’s works acquire a new historical meaning. Voinov’s works are laconic in their composition.
For this installation Voinov chose the unrenovated interiors of the General Staff Building on Palace Square . The exhibition consists of collages and installations made of authentic found objects on themes connected with the newest history of Russia . There are 73 works represented in the exhibition, installed in five rooms. Each group of collages and separate installations are thematically connected and titled: Red Wall; Circle-The father of a square; The Viennese Set; and others. The installation of the exhibition is an artwork in itself.
The book for the exhibition includes 17 essays with 110 illustrations. Each copy of the catalogue is marked by an original, unique object: a stamp from the 1920’s-1940’s with the image of a soldier ("Voinov" can be translated into English as "soldier"). Edition: 500 copies.
