The exhibition by Boris Mikhailov is a homecoming show offering a view on his oeuvre, from photography to conceptual art and performativity. Mikhailov’s work moves along the edges of political and social norms and tests the limits of what the project addresses as “The Forbidden Image”. This title stresses the personal engagement and risks implied by the early practice of Mikhailov and his keen sense of critical thinking through the image itself, allowing an expanded understanding of reality. The exhibition underscores his position as a leader and a thinker.

The exhibition premieres two new films by David Teboul, who followed Boris Mikhailov, collecting 40 hours of video material. “Tea, Coffee, Cappuccino” (13 minutes) addresses the question of the documentary’s essential place in the artist’s work. “I was here” (1.55 hours) is a portrait of the artist, wherein he describes the emotions his photographs arouse in him. It reveals Mikhailov’s taste for incompletion, irony, and his liking for play. The films engage with the works of Mikhailov throughout the exhibition.

Curators – Björn Geldhof, Artistic director of the PinchukArtCentre; Martin Kiefer, in charge of Contemporary Art at the Musée du Louvre, Paris; Alicia Knock, curator, Contemporary and Research Department, Centre Pompidou, Paris.

A special thanks goes out to Suzanne Tarasiève for supporting the realization of the Boris Mikhailov exhibition.

Salt Lake, 1986

Boris Mikhailov
late c-print
Courtesy of the Artist and Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris

Sots Art, 1975-1986

Boris Mikhailov
pigment printing, hand-colouring
Courtesy of the Artist

Diary, 1960-2015

Boris Mikhailov
collage, exhibition copy
Courtesy of the Artist and Barbara Weiss Gallery, Berlin

Unfinished dissertation, 1984-1985

Boris Mikhailov
paper, pigment printing
Courtesy of the Artist

Superimpositions (Yesterday`s Sandwich), 1970-1979/2007

Boris Mikhailov
chromogenic print
Courtesy of the Artist and Niccolo Sprovieri Gallery, London

Superimpositions (Yesterday`s Sandwich)

Boris Mikhailov
digital variant of the slide show with Pink Floyd music from late 1960`s — 1970`s
video, 10’14”
Courtesy of the Artist and Niccolo Sprovieri Gallery, London

Viscidity, 1982

Boris Mikhailov
black and white print, partly sepia toned,
coloured paper, all marked with coloured pencill
exhibition copy
Courtesy of the Artist and Guido Costa Gallery, Turin, Italy

Red series, 1968-1975

Boris Mikhailov
coloured printing
Courtesy of the Artist

At Dusk, 1993

Boris Mikhailov
black and white photographs, blue toned
Courtesy of the Artist and Guido Costa Gallery, Turin, Italy

Temptation by the Death, 2017-2019

Boris Mikhailov
video, 10’28”
Courtesy of the Artist and Biennale dell`immagine, Chiasso, Switzerland
Curator Francesco Zanot

Look at Me I Look at Water, 1999

Boris Mikhailov
paper, c-print
Courtesy of the Artist and Barbara Gross Gallery, Munich, Germany

By the Ground, 1991

Boris Mikhailov
black and white photographs, sepia toned

Boris Mikhailov. Tea Coffee Capuccino, 2019

David Teboul, lives and works in Paris
Documentary film, 13′
Courtesy of the producer

Case history, 1997-1998

Boris Mikhailov
coloured printing
Courtesy of the Artist

Boris Mikhailov. I was here, 2019

David Teboul, lives and works in Paris
Documentary film, 113′
Courtesy of the producer

From the Foto Zeit Salzau, 1996

Boris Mikhailov
vintage print on raster paper
Courtesy of the Artist and Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris

I am not I, 1992

Boris Mikhailov
pigment printing
Courtesy of the Artist and Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris

Football, 2003

Boris Mikhailov
pigment printing on an aluminium plate