Department of Eagles

Andrey Filippov solo exhibition

March 08 - April 28

Rating: 6+

Organizers Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, E.K.ArtBureau

"An artist thinks in images, while the viewers feel and reflect on what they see. If these two approaches coincide, the whole thing is interesting."
Andrey Filippov

The Department of Eagles is Andrey Filippov's major solo show to be held in Moscow. It is for the first time that the landmark installations by the prominent Moscow conceptualism artist have been reconstructed in a single space. The Ekaterina Cultural Foundation will host the artist's orderly Universe, his inner Byzantium as the perfect image of the artist's tranquility and peace of mind. Seeing art as an eternal sacrament taking place in the souls of the artist and his viewers, Filippov creates a special meditative space of thought and silence, where his imagery is all but bound to strike a chord with the visitors.

Ekaterina and Vladimir Semenikhin, the founders of the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation:
"Andrey Filippov's work – considered the classics of the Moscow conceptualism school – has been featured in many of the Foundation’s major projects; and we think the time is ripe for the artist's solo show to be held here, on the Kuznetsky Most street. We were eager for this project to be a kind of "total installation", which would cover all the main themes and images of the artist's work. The visitors will see the installations and paintings, which were conceived and produced by Andrey Filippov in the 1980s and 90s. For some of them, the artist had to restore missing or lost details; one of the installations has been rebuilt almost from scratch, which brings us back to reconstruction, a theme that has been of great importance for the Foundation over the past few years."

"The exhibition, featuring more than 50 paintings and installations spanning 25 years of the artist's career, will become a comprehensive installation telling the story of the rise and fall of great civilizations, which the artist likens to the Russian mythical city of Kitezh. The title of the exhibition refers to Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers' Museum of Modern Art, Department of Eagles, a tongue-in-cheek project that was a mock museum of found objects. Andrey Filippov’s show is devoid of the "pathos of timeless values", stagnation or dogmatism," art historian Alexandra Danilova wrote.

Double-headed imperial eagles first appeared in Andrey Filippov's work in the late 1980s to later become his trademark symbol. The project aims to bring together Andrey Filippov's works from different periods, many of which haven't been exhibited for more than 20 years, while some will be put on display for the first time – this includes A Wheel in the Head installation (2015). Apart from seven installations, each of which will be exhibited in a separate hall, the show will also feature paintings, the artist's key objects and photos.

Andrey Filippov will be a special guest of the 6th Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art scheduled for autumn 2015.

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