Oleg Kulik is a performance artist, sculptor, photographer and curator.
Kulik was born in Kiev in 1961, graduated from Kiev Art School (1979) and Kiev Geological Survey College (1982), and was awarded a scholarship by the Berlin Senate in 1996. He lives and works in Moscow.
Oleg Kulik made his name with shocking, provocative performance art with an animal twist — most memorable are his extended periods inhabiting the persona of a dog and his bid for president in the guise of a bull. Now Kulik’s art is taking a new turn, investigating the role of the sacred in contemporary society.
OLEG KULIK
Born in Kiev in 1961
1979 graduated from Kiev Art School
1982 graduated from Geological Institute, Kiev
Lives and works in Moscow
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
Oleg Kulik, РАМЫ, REGINAGALLERY, MoscowFrames, REGINAGALLERY, Moscow
2012
1th Kiev Biennal of Contemporary Art, Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kiev
2011
Oleg Kulik – Primadellabiennale. The Russian, 18 Diviasulis, Cagliari
Oleg Kulik – Vespri della Beata Vergine, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venezia
2010
And Water Flows Beneath the Ice, Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Art, Mosca, Russia
DEEP INTO RUSSIA – Galleria Pack, Milan
2008
Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris
NEW PARADISE – Leonhard Ruethmueller – Contemporary Art, Basel
2007
From the dustbin – XL Gallery, Moscow
Museum of Nature or New Paradise. Galleria Nina Lumer, Milano
2005
System of Coordinates: Actions & Performances (1994 – 1999) – Artspace Sydney, Sydney, NSW
Oleg Kulik – Gobi Test 2 – XL Gallery, Moscow
2003
Oleg Kulik. Center for Contemporary Art, Naples
Slogans. Regina Gallery, Moscow
2001
Deep into Russia. S.M.A.K, Gent
Two Kuliks. Ikon Gallery, Burmingham
2000
Oleg Kulik in Warsaw. Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsaw
Lolita vs. Alica. Galerie Rabouan-Moussion, Paris
1999
Red Room. XL Gallery, Moscow
Russian. Regina Gallery, Moscow
1998
Oleg Kulik. Galerie Rabouan-Moussion, Paris
Oleg Kulik. Center for Contemporary Art, Riga
1997
Family of the Future. M.Guelman Gallery, XL Gallery, Moscow
Virtual Dog. M.Guelman Gallery, Moscow
I Bite America & America Bites Me (together with Mila Bredikhina). Deitch Projects, New York
1995
My Family, or the Nature is Perfect. M.Guelman Gallery, Moscow
The Same and Skotinin. XL Gallery, Moscow
The End of History. XL Gallery, Moscow
1994 I Love Gorby. M.Guelman Gallery, Moscow
1989 Presentiment of Unliberty. Palace of Youth, Moscow
1988 Paradox as a Method. Exhibitional Hall of Sevastopolsky region, Moscow
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017
“Washington 186”, AEROPLASTICS contemporary, Brussels
“Innere Haut, Kunst und Scham”, MARTa Herford, Herford
2016
“Kollektsia! Contemporary art in the USSR and in Russia, 1950-2000”, Centre Pompidou, Paris
“Heritage. Nature – Достояние”, Victoria Art Gallery, Samara
“Russian Artists – Participants Of The Venice Biennale Of Arts. Selected Works”, MANEGE Central Exhibition Hall – The Сollection of the Сontemporary Art of St-Petersburg, St. Petersburg
“Conversation autour d’une collection. Collection Jocelyne et Fabrice Petignat”, Villa Bernasconi, Lancy “Situation Of Art In Museum Permm”, Perm Museum of Contemporary Art, Perm
2015
Recycling Religion – Whitebox Art Center, New York City, NY
Satellite | Taking Flight – Whitebox Art Center, New York City, NY
Art Collector – Lena & Roselli Gallery, Budapest
Grammar Of Freedom / Five Lessons: Works From Arteast 2000+ Collection – Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
2014
Post Pop: East Meets West, The Saatchi Gallery, London
Russian Performance: A Cartography Of Its History, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
Busan Biennale 2014, Inhabiting the World, Busan Museum of Art, Busan
Une histoire, art, architecture et design, des années 80 à aujourd, Centre Pompidou, Musée National d´Art Moderne, Paris
Russian Contemporary Art, Havremagasinet Art Center, Boden
Le Mur, La collection Antoine de Galbert, La Maison Rouge, Paris
Do it Moscow, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, GCCC, Moscow
Transition and Transition. Josip Vaništa, Oleg Kulik, Blue Noses, Ludwig Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art – Budapest, Budapest
2013
The Team I Can’t Live Without, REGINAGALLERY, Moscow
Russian Art after Perestroika, Sorø Kunstmuseum, Sorø
Un Automne Russe, Topographie de l\’art, Paris
Artist in Society, Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris
Murano-Merano, kunst Meran, Meran
Collection Platform 4: Emotion and Technology, Office 510, Kiev
En suspension, FRAC, Pays de la Loire, Carquefou
Collection Joseph Kouli, Mains d’oeuvres, Saint Ouen
2012
En un desorden absoluto. Arte contemporáneo ruso. Premio Kandinsky (2007-2012), Arts Santa Monica, Barcellona
La pelle che abito, PACK Gallery, Milano
2011
Surreal Versus Surrealism in Contemporary Art, IVAM, Valencia, Spagna
Glasstress, Venezia
Site Inspection – The Museum on the Museum – Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art – Budapest, Budapest
Für Hund und Katz ist auch noch Platz – Art Foyer der DZ Bank Kunstsammlung, Frankfurt/Main
Wax – Sensation in contemporary sculpture – KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg (former Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum), Aalborg
Collection Platform 1: Circulation – PinchukArtCentre, Kiev
WAX – Sensation in Contemporary Sculpture – Kunstforeningen GL Strand, Copenhagen
2010
Space Odyssey, Mystetski Arsenal-Cultural Art and Museum, Kyiv, Russia
Serie InContemporanea, Associazione Fondo Giov-Anna Piras, Asti
Ibrido, PAC-Padiglione di Arte Contemporanea, Milano
Eroi ed eroine, Castello di Rivalta, Torino
If I Only Knew… – Moscow museum of modern art – MMOMA, Moscow
PostDimension – A Journey in the Contemporary Art – Torrione Passari, Molfetta
Group Show – Kerstin Engholm Galerie (former Engholm Engelhorn Galerie), Vienna
Things evoke feelings – CSW Centrum Sztuki Wspolczesnej / Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
Animal politique – FRAC – Poitou-Charentes, Angoulême
Objects in Mirror Are Closer than They Appear: About videoart in Russia – Futura, Prague, Artis – Abbaye St André – Centre d’art contemporain Meymac, Meymac
Russian Utopias – Garage Center for Contemporary Culture – GCCC, Moscow
Summa Summarum – National Center For Contemporary Art (NCCA) – Moscow Branch, Moscow
2009
Sketches of installations – XL Gallery, Moscow
Gender Check – Rollenbilder in der Kunst Osteuropas – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig – MUMOK , Vienna
Omnibus Rebus / About All Things – National Center For Contemporary Art (NCCA) – Moscow Branch, Moscow
Cocker Spaniel and other tools for international understanding – Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel
Videnie – Perm Museum of Contemporary Art, Perm
Common History and Its Private Stories. Geschichte und Geschichten – MUSA – Museum auf Abruf, Vienna
I Was Russia – Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
Future depends on you. New Rules – Moscow museum of modern art – MMOMA, Moscow
History of Russian Video Art. Volume 2 – Moscow museum of modern art – MMOMA, Moscow
Étude to Art Object – Moscow museum of modern art – MMOMA, Moscow
The another mythology – National Center For Contemporary Art (NCCA) – Moscow Branch, Moscow
ARTISTS OF THE GALLERY – A SPECIAL SELECTION – Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna
2008
Großes Kunstfest LOSS OF CONTROL – MARTa Herford, Herford
I Am Making Art: 4 estudios sobre el cuerpo del artista – Centro Huarte de Arte Contemporáneo, Huarte
Contemporary Russian Art – Russian soc-art – MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts, Debrecen
A(rt)R(ussia)T(oday)-index – LNMM Latvijas Nacionlais Mkslas Muzejs / LNMA Latvian National Museum of Arts, Riga
Friction and Conflict – Kalmar konstmuseum, Kalmar
Space Is the Place – CAC – Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
2007
Exhibition of Kandinsky Prize Nominees – Winzavod – Moscow Contemporary Art Center, Moscow
STILL HERE: humour in post-communist performative video – Artspace Sydney, Sydney, NSW
Sots Art. Art politique en Russie de 1972 à aujourd’hui – La Maison Rouge, Paris
Depository of Dreams – White Space Gallery, London (England)
MOSCOUPOLIS – Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris
Asia – Europe Mediations – IF Museum Inner Spaces, Poznan
Space Is the Place – Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art – SMoCA, Scottsdale, AZ
Freakshow – An unnatural history – BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (England)
I am making Art – Chapitre 1 – Rituel, Transgression, Endurance, Risque – Centre d´Art Contemporain Geneve, Geneva
Movement. Evolution. Art. – Cultural Foundation Ekaterina, Moscow
Thaw – The State Russian Museum – Marble Palace, St. Petersburg
Crossing Frontiers – Looking for an Artistic Identity in Eastern Europe – Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art – Budapest, Budapest
2006
Crossing Frontiers – The Artistic Search for the Identity in the Eastern Europe,
Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie Regensburg Origin of Species
Reiz und Risiko, Museum Haus für Kunst Uri, Altdorf, Switzerland
Art in Epoch of Social Darvinism, The Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan
Videoinstallation of Oleg Kulik Performances, Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, CCA in Kiev and Lublana
Tretiakovskaya Gallery 20th Century, Moscow
Russia! S. Guggenheim Museum, New York; S. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
2005
StarZ. Within the framework of the 1st Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
Always a Little Further. Arsenale, 51 Biennale di Venezia
Angels of History – Moscow Conceptualism and its influence. Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (MuHKA), Antwerpen
2004
FIAC, M. Guelman Gallery booth, Paris
2003
Live Culture/. Tate Modern,
Horizons of Reality/, Muhka,
Lozung/Message, The Ideal City/. II Bienniale de Valencia,
Absolute Generation/, 50 Venice Bienniale, Palazzo Zenobio, Berlin – Moskau/. 1950-2000. Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; State Historical Museum, Moscow
Bunker. Bunker, Berlin
2002
Moskau: Paradise. Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna
Le Tribu dell’arte. City Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome
Under the Skin. Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg
IV Cetinjski Biennale, Museum of History and Arts, Cetine
The Russian Patient. Freud Museum, London
Davaj!: Russian Art Now, Postfuhrant, Berlin; MAK, Vienna
Socialais exhibicionisms. Latvian Museum of Photography, Riga
2001
49 Venice Bienniale. Yugoslavian Pavilion, Venice
The Body & Sin (Art Is the Virtue of Communication). I Biennale de Valencia, Valencia
Trans Sexual Express Barcelona. Centre d’Art Santa Monica, Barcelona
2000
L’Autre moitie de l’Europe. Jeu de Paume, Paris
Performing Bodies. Tate Modern, London
Nordic, Baltic and Russian photography. Finnish Museum of Photography (Cable Factory), Helsinki
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Oberhausen
Videoentropy. Center of Contemporary Art, Kiev
Herausforderung Tier – von Beuys bis Kabakov (Animal Challenge). Stadtlische Galerie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
1999
Fauna. State Center of Contemporary Art, Moscow
Locally Interested. National Gallery for Foreign Art, Sofia
After the Wall. Modern Museum, Stockholm
Moskau heute. Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Gent
1998
International Month of Photography, Moscow
L’Arte dans le monde, Passage de Retz, Paris
Die Medialization. Edsvik konst och kultur, Stockholm
Public Interest. Central House of Artists, Kiev
Sommerausstellung. Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Gent
Flesh and Fall. Gallery Art Kiosk, Brussel
Body and the East. Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana
Spectacle de Groupe. FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Nantes
XXIV Sao Paolo biennale, Sao Paolo
1997
Virtual Dog. M. Guelman Gallery, Moscow
It’s a Better World (together with Mila Bredikhina). Wiener Secession, Vienna
Europarte. Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, XLVII Venice Biennale, Venice
I Lioghi Ritrovatti. CCA, Serre Di Rapolano, Siena
Biennale Selest’Art (together with Mila Bredikhina), Center of Contemporary Art, Selesta
1996
Interpol. Fargfabriken, Stockholm
Manifesta I (together with Mila Bredikhina). V-2, Rotherdam
De Rode Poort. Museum van Hadendaagse Kunst, Gent
Discort: Sabotage of Realities (together with Mila Bredikhina). Kunsthalle, Hamburg
1995
No Man’s Land (together with Mila Bredikhina). Center of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen
Kiev Encounter. XL Gallery, Moscow; House of Ukraine, Kiev
Kunst im Verborgenen. Documenta-Halle, Kassel
Multiplication. Tsaritsyno Museum, Moscow
Der Grosse Zurcher Ausstellung. Kunsthause Orlikon, Zurich
1993
Devoted to the VII Congress of the Delegates. M. Guelman Gallery in the Central House of Artist, Moscow
Book Exhibition. Lenin Library, Moscow
1992
Apology of Shyness, or the First Hand Art. Regina Gallery, Moscow
On Transparency. Regina Gallery, Moscow; Zimenki village
Philosophy of a Name. Center of Contemporary Art on Yakimanka, Moscow
1990
Logic of Paradox. Palace of Youth, Moscow
Zen. Exhibition Hall at Kashirka, Moscow
Avant-garde-90. Central Exhibition Hall Manege, Moscow
1989
Out of Genre. Palace of Youth, Moscow