The Forbidden Image
Solo exhibition by Boris Mikhailov

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.

Boris Mikhailov
Salt Lake, 1986
late c-print
Courtesy of the Artist and Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris

Boris Mikhailov
Sots Art, 1975-1986
pigment printing, hand-colouring
Courtesy of the Artist

Boris Mikhailov
Diary, 1960-2015
collage, exhibition copy
Courtesy of the Artist and Barbara Weiss Gallery, Berlin

Boris Mikhailov
Unfinished dissertation, 1984-1985
paper, pigment printing
Courtesy of the Artist

Boris Mikhailov
Superimpositions (Yesterday`s Sandwich), 1970-1979/2007
chromogenic print
Courtesy of the Artist and Niccolo Sprovieri Gallery, London

Boris Mikhailov
Superimpositions (Yesterday`s Sandwich)
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

Boris Mikhailov
Viscidity, 1982
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

Boris Mikhailov
Red series, 1968-1975
coloured printing
Courtesy of the Artist

Boris Mikhailov
At Dusk, 1993
black and white photographs, blue toned
Courtesy of the Artist and Guido Costa Gallery, Turin, Italy

Boris Mikhailov
Temptation by the Death, 2017-2019
video, 10’28”
Courtesy of the Artist and Biennale dell`immagine, Chiasso, Switzerland
Curator Francesco Zanot

Boris Mikhailov
Look at Me I Look at Water, 1999
paper, c-print
Courtesy of the Artist and Barbara Gross Gallery, Munich, Germany

Boris Mikhailov
By the Ground, 1991
black and white photographs, sepia toned

David Teboul
Boris Mikhailov. Tea Coffee Capuccino, 2019
Documentary film, 13′
Courtesy of the producer

Boris Mikhailov
Case history, 1997-1998
coloured printing
Courtesy of the Artist

David Teboul
Boris Mikhailov. I was here, 2019
Documentary film, 113′
Courtesy of the producer

Boris Mikhailov
From the Foto Zeit Salzau, 1996
vintage print on raster paper
Courtesy of the Artist and Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris

Boris Mikhailov
I am not I, 1992
pigment printing
Courtesy of the Artist and Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris

Boris Mikhailov
Football, 2003
pigment printing on an aluminium plate