# Yuri Avvakumov

Yuri Avvakumov (Russian: Ю́рий И́горевич Авваку́мов, born 22 July 1957, Tiraspol) is a Russian architect, artist, and curator. He became a member of the Union of Architects of Russia in 1985, a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts in 2012, and a Full Member in 2017. Avvakumov has represented Russia at the Venice Biennale three times.

## Biography

He was born in Tiraspol in the Moldavian SSR of the Soviet Union (now in Transnistria, Moldova) on 22 July 1957 and has lived in Moscow since 1968. He graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute (МАРХИ) in 1981 and worked there as a research fellow from 1983 to 1988.
Since 1982, he has participated in exhibitions of fine art and architecture as an artist, architect, and curator.
In 1988, he founded the Agitarkh studio in Moscow.
In 1993, he established the Utopia Foundation.
From 1993 to 1994, he taught at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (Die Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe) in Karlsruhe, Germany.
According to Snob magazine, by the early 2020s, Avvakumov had designed around 100 exhibitions as an architect, participated in approximately 500 as an artist, and curated about 50. He represented Russia at the Venice Biennale three times: in 1996 ("Prescient of the Future. The Architect as a Seismograph"), 2003 ("Utopia Station"), and 2008 ("Maternity Home").
He is married to the artist Alyona Kirtsova.

## Paper architecture

In 1984, Avvakumov introduced the term "paper architecture" into Russian usage to describe the genre of conceptual design that emerged in the USSR during the 1980s. According to Snob magazine, which refers to Avvakumov as "one of the most renowned contemporary Russian architects," paper architecture is defined as "avant-garde creative projects not intended for realization." The magazine notes that during Soviet times, Avvakumov succeeded in elevating this form of architecture, which began as a student rebellion against the architectural stagnation of the 1980s, to the status of a classic. Today, projects from that era are housed in the world's leading museums.
Since 1984, Avvakumov has organized exhibitions of Paper Architecture, which have taken place in cities such as Moscow, Ljubljana, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Antwerp, Cologne, Brussels, Zurich, Cambridge, Austin, New Orleans, Amherst, Volgograd, Venice, and Berlin. Collections of Paper Architecture are held in institutions including the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow (30 works), the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg (100 works), the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow (50 works), the Centre Pompidou in Paris (50 works), and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York (50 works).
In 2019, Avvakumov published the book Paper Architecture. An Anthology through the Garage Museum Publishing House. The book presents an archive of selected works by Avvakumov in this genre, which he has been collecting since 1984. It features works by more than 100 authors, referred to as "paper artists," with 250 projects and 570 illustrations. In 2020, Avvakumov received The Art Newspaper Russia award for "Book of the Year" for this publication. The book was reissued in English in 2021, and in 2023, the second edition was published in Russian.

## Examples of works and projects

Since the early 1980s, Avvakumov has been engaging with the legacy of the Russian avant-garde. He has designed exhibitions for Lyubov Popova (1989), Konstantin Melnikov (1990), Olga Rozanova (1991), and Vladimir Tatlin (1993/1994). He also worked on the website of Ivan Leonidov and, in 2002, reconstructed Kazimir Malevich's architecton.
In 1986, Avvakumov began a series of works titled Temporary Monuments, dedicated to the constructivism of the 1920s and its heroes. Exhibitions of the entire series were held at the Linsen Gallery in Cologne (1990), the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Museum of Architecture in Moscow (1992–93). The main work from this series, Worker and Kolkhoz Woman International (1991), was also shown at the 6th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice (1996), the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow (2000), the Berlin-Moscow exhibition in Berlin, and the Work and Live. Constructivist Architecture. 1917–1937 exhibition at the Zotov Center in 2023. Other works from this series were exhibited in various cities around the world throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
From 2000 to 2003, Avvakumov curated 36 exhibitions of architectural photography for the Photoprogram 24 at the State Museum of Architecture in Moscow and the Moscow House of Photography.
In 2007, Avvakumov organized the exhibition BornHouse at the VKHUTEMAS Gallery in Moscow as part of the Second Biennale of Contemporary Art. In 2008, he held the exhibition at the Church of San Stae in Venice as part of the 11th Biennale of Architecture. In 2009, the exhibition was showcased at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Lille during the Europe XXL festival.
In June 2008, Avvakumov served as the curator of the exhibition dedicated to the opening of the Garage Museum.
He participated in the design of the recreational complex "New Holland" in St. Petersburg, the "Museum Town" at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, the underground museum "Zaryadye" in Moscow (2016), and other projects.
In 2014, he designed the exhibition Right of Correspondence, which featured notes and letters from political prisoners in Soviet camps, drawn from the archives of the society Memorial.

## Awards and recognition

In 1997, he received the British Council Award for the Krasnaya Gorka Bridge project (which was not implemented).
In 2001, he was awarded the Gold Honorary Badge of "Public Recognition."
In 2007, he received the Ludwig Giese Prize at the 10th Sculpture Triennial in Fellbach, Germany.
In 2010, he was awarded the Innovation State Prize for the Open Doors Day project at the MMOMA.
In 2017 and 2022, he received the silver and gold medals "Worthy" from the Russian Academy of Arts.

## Works, collections and projects
### Museums

Avvakumov's works are represented in the following museum collections of the world:
* Russian Museum (Saint Petersburg);
* Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow);
* National Centre for Contemporary Arts (Moscow);
* Shchusev Museum of Architecture (Moscow);
* Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Moscow);
* Stella Art Foundation (Moscow);
* Museum of Modern Art (New York);
* German Architecture Museum (Frankfurt);
* Victoria and Albert Museum (London);
* Centre Pompidou (Paris);
* ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe);
* Alberto Sandretti Collection (Milan);
* Stadtmuseum Fellbach (Fellbach);
* Nasher Museum of Art (Durham, North Carolina).

### Solo exhibitions

* 1989 — La cupola, La gondola. DС MELZ, Moscow.
* 1989 — Agitarch. Linssen Gallery, Cologne.
* 1991 — Walls and Ladders (with Alyona Kirtsova). State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
* 1992 — Illiquid Assets (with Sergei Shutov). First Gallery, Moscow / Temporary Monuments. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg / State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
* 1994 — 1:43. Karlheinz Meyer Gallery, Karlsruhe.
* 1996–2000 — Russian Utopia: A Depository. Russian Pavilion, Venice Biennale / Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam / State Museum of Architecture, Moscow / Museum and Exhibition Center, Volgograd / State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
* 1999 — A. S. Pushkin and Money. XL Gallery, Moscow.
* 2000 — MiSCeLLaNeouS. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
* 2005 — La Scala. Krokin Gallery, Moscow.
* 2006 — Red Corner. Stella Art Gallery, Moscow.
* 2007 — Games. Stella Art Foundation, Moscow.
* 2012 — Visual Test. Triumph Gallery, Moscow.
* 2016 — Towers. Krokin Gallery, Moscow.
* 2020 — Νεκροπολη. Krokin Gallery, Moscow.

### Group exhibitions

* 1982–1983 — Dolls House. Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London.
* 1984 — Paper Architecture. Yunost magazine house, Moscow.
* 1986 — Paper Architecture. In search of identity. SKUC Gallery, Ljubljana.
* 1988 — Fantasy vs. Utopia. Palazzo dell' Arte, XVII Triennale di Milano.
* 1989 — Architecture and Imagination. Fort Asperen, Leerdam / Architecture and Utopia. Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Paris.
* 1989 — Papierarchitekture. Neue Projecte Aus Des Sowjetunion. Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt.
* 1990 — Avantgarde 20/90. Manege, Moscow / In De USSR En Erbuiten. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam / Construir! Fondation Pour L’architecture, Brussels.
* 1990–91 — Between Spring And Summer: Soviet Conceptual Art In The Era Of Late Communism. Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA / Ica, Boston, MA / Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA.
* 1990 — Towards the Object. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
* 1991 — Vision of Space. Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne.
* 1991 — Avvakumov/Brodsky/Utkin: Conceptual Soviet Architecture. Spectrum Gallery, San Francisco.
* 1992 — Paper Architecture. Alma Mater. Moscow Architectural Institute.
* 1992 — 3-rd International Biennale. Istanbul.
* 1993–94 — Aspects Actuels de la Mouvance Construite Internationale. Musee Des Beaux-arts De Vevriers / Centre De La Gravure Et De L’image Imprimee, La Louviere.
* 1994 — Utopia Factory. Russian Visionary Architecture. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
* 1994 — May Exhibition. Kuznetsky Most, 20, Moscow.
* 1995 — About the House. Belyaevo Gallery, Moscow.
* 1995 — Arte Russa. Villa Zorn, Sesto San Jiovanni / Einblicke. Werkstatt Moskau II. Akademie der Kunste, Berlin.
* 1996 — The Art of Flight. Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen / Archaeology of the City of the Future. Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / Museum of Art, Hiroshima / Gifu Prefectural Museum / Presenting the Future. The Architect as a Seismograph. VI International Exhibition of Architecture, Venice.
* 1997 — Mirage city. Another Utopia. NTT ICC, Tokyo / Living Bridges. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 1997 — Living bridges. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 1999 — Easy Breathing. Moscow Arts Centre.
* 2000 — The Fifth Element — Art or Money. Kunsthalle Dusseldorf / A Doll from a Star. ORT, State Museum of Architecture, Moscow / A Personal View. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 2001 — Family Album: Brooklyn Collects. Brooklyn Museum, New York.
* 2003–2004 — Berlin—Moscow. Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin / Moscow—Berlin. State Historical Museum, Moscow.
* 2003 — Form Specific. Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana / Utopia Station. Venice Biennale.
* 2004 — Imagine a Limerick. EV+A, City Gallery, Limerick / Critics' Choice, Lodz Biennale.
* 2005 — Re: modern. Artists' House, Vienna. / The Meaning of Life/The Meaning of Art. Ludwig Museum, Budapest / Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow / Wonder of the World. New Manege, Moscow.
* 2006 — Artists Against the State: Perestroika Revisited. Feldman Gallery, New York / Dream Repository, White Space Gallery, London / Peace Tower. Whitney Museum of American Art.
* 2007–2010 — Sculpture Triennial, Felbach / Drawing of Siberia. 7th Museum Biennale, Krasnoyarsk.
* 2008 — Persimfans. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow / Tunguska Substance. Krasnoyarsk Museum Center / Russian Dreams.... Bass Museum, Miami Beach
* 2008–2009 — This Vague Object of Art. Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna / Ca' Oesonico, Venice.
* 2009 — Distance. Krasnoyarsk Museum Center.
* 2010 — Russian Utopias. Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow.
* 2010 — Excellent Art. Abbey of San Andreas, Meimak.
* 2011 — Svoboda. Spazio Carbonesi, Bologna.
* 2011 — Russian Space. Castello Rivoli, Turin / MMAM, Moscow.
* 2013 — Trespassing Modernities. Salt Galata, Istanbul.
* 2016 — Collection! Contemporary Art of the USSR and Russia, 1950-2000. Centre Pompidou, Paris.

### Curatorial projects

* 1984 — Paper Architecture. Editorial office of the magazine Yunost, Moscow.
* 1986 — Paper Architecture. In Search of Originality. Gallery Škuts, Ljubljana.
* 1988 — Paper Architecture. Fantasies and Utopias. La Villette, Paris / Paper Architecture. Fantasies against Utopias. Palace of the Arts, Milan.
* 1989 — Paper Architecture. New Projects from the USSR. German Architecture Museum, Frankfurt.
* 1990 — New Architectural Fantasy. Linsen Gallery, Cologne / Build! Foundation for Architecture, Brussels / Avant-garde 20/90. Manege Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
* 1990–1991 — Paper Architecture. Architectural Forum, Zurich / Center for Fine Arts, MIT, Cambridge / Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans / Huntington Gallery, Austin / Center for Fine Arts, Amherst.
* 1992 — Paper Architecture. Alma Mater. Moscow Architectural Institute.
* 1994 — Factory of Utopias. Russian Visionary Architecture of the 20th Century. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
* 1998 — The Epic of a Great Era. Arts Pavilion, Paris.
* 1999–2000 — Without a Wall. Anthony Svo. Oberdan Gallery, Milan / Main Post Office, Berlin-Mitte / Royal Festival Hall, London / Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
* 2000–2003 — Photo Program 24. 36 exhibitions of architectural photography. State Museum of Architecture, Moscow / Moscow House of Photography.
* 2005 — Playground. Artplay Gallery, Moscow
* 2007 — Maternity Hospital. VKHUTEMAS Gallery, Moscow / Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg
* 2007 — Arabesque(s). Pirogovo, Moscow Region.
* 2007 — Transit. Paper Architecture. Sketch Folder. Former Military Barracks. Kodras. Thessaloniki
* 2008 — Garage. Introductory Exhibition, GTsK, Moscow.
* 2008 — Maternity Hospital. Biennale of Architecture, Church of San Stae, Venice.
* 2009 — Maternity Hospital. Church of Mary Magdalene, Lille.
* 2009 — Paper Architecture. Mausoleum. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 2009 — Zodchestvo-2009. Central Exhibition Hall Manege, Moscow.
* 2009 — Open Doors Day, MMOMA, Moscow.
* 2010 — The Director's Office. Palazzo Zenobio, Venice.
* 2010 — Zodchestvo-2010. Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
* 2011 — Reliquary. Musivum Gallery, Moscow.
* 2013 — Totan Kuzembaev. Gravity. Artplay, Moscow.
* 2015 — Paper Architecture. The End of History. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
* 2017 — Paper Architecture. Collection. Centre Pompidou, Paris.
* 2017 — Centrifugal Tendencies. Museum of Architectural Graphics, Berlin
* 2018 — Collective Image. Tropinin Museum, Moscow.
* 2019 — Atlas of Creative Studios. Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
* 2020 — Ostozhenka. Project in the Project. Museum of Moscow.
* 2023 — Composed by the architect Shchusev. Museum of Decorative Arts, Moscow.

### Exhibition projects

* 1983 — Architect Kurokawa, Central House of Artists, Moscow (with Evgeny Asse).
* 1985 — Exhibition of young architects. Central House of Artists, Moscow.
* 1988 — Assa's Art-Rock Parade. DK MELZ, Moscow.
* 1989 — Lyubov Popova. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 1990 — Konstantin Melnikov. State A.S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
* 1991 — Olga Rozanova. Tverskaya, 25, Moscow.
* 1993–1994 — Vladimir Tatlin. Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf / State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 1997 — Mikhail Vrubel. Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf (with Alyona Kirtsova)
* 1998 — The Epic of a Great Era. Arts Pavilion, Paris.
* 1999 — 16 Stories about Moscow. State Chancellery, Munich.
* 2000 — Without a Wall. Anthony Swo. Royal Festival Hall, London / The Fifth Element - Art or Money. Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf.
* 2002 — The History of the Gardner Figurine. Moscow Arts Center / Photobiennale, Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
* 2004 — The Jack of Diamonds. Antoine 1st Hall, Monaco (with Alyona Kirtsova).
* 2005 — 1418. Moscow House of Photography
* 2006 — Lightness of Being. Pirogovo Resort, Moscow Region.
* 2007 — Arabesque(s). Pirogovo Resort, Moscow Region.
* 2008 — Krasnoarmeyskaya Studio. Interros, Moscow.
* 2008 — Porcelain. Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt am Main.
* 2008 — Meander. Pirogovo Resort, Moscow Region.
* 2008 — Russian Dreams.... Bass Museum, Miami Beach.
* 2009 — Art Without Borders. Palace of Nations, Geneva.
* 2009–2010 — Zodchestvo. Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
* 2010 — Handmade Skies. Grabar Center, Moscow.
* 2011 — 100% Ivanovo. Museum of the Revolution, Moscow.
* 2011 — Vasily Ermilov. Arsenal, Kyiv (with Alyona Kirtsova).
* 2011 — Mount Athos. Images of the Holy Land. State Historical Museum, Moscow.
* 2012 — Russians and Germans. State Historical Museum, Moscow (with Alyona Kirtsova).
* 2012 — Manege. Museum Level (three exhibitions). Central Exhibition Hall Manege, Moscow (with Alyona Kirtsova).
* 2012 — Geliy Korzhev. The Bible of a Socialist Realist. Institute of Russian Realist Art, Moscow (with Alyona Kirtsova).
* 2013 — Pavel Korin. Requiem. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
* 2014 — The Art of the Kimono. Manege, Moscow.
* 2014 — Art as a Profession. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
* 2014 — Vasily Shukhaev. Retrospective. Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow.
* 2014 — The Right of Correspondence. International Memorial, Moscow.
* 2015 — Guardians. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
* 2017 — Vasily Shukhaev. Magadan Regional Museum of Local History.
* 2018 — Comet's Tail. The Rostov Kremlin State Museum-Reserve.
* 2018 — NER: In the Footsteps of the City of the Future. The Shchusev Museum of Architecture, Moscow (with Alexandra Gutnova).

### Architectural projects

* 1984 — Matryoshka House. UNESCO Competition Cities and Dwellings for Tomorrow, bronze medal / Club-city. A+U Competition 'Style for the Year 2001' (with SACB of MARKhI), Tokyo, 1st prize.
* 1986 — Gagarin center (with Igor Pischukevich & Totan Kuzembaev). Union of Architects of the USSR competition, 1st prize.
* 1993 — Central Park of Sculpture and Leisure, Moscow / First Gallery of the Utopia Foundation (with Georgy Solopov), Moscow.
* 1997 — Krasnaya Gorka Bridge, British Council Competition, 1st Prize.
* 2002 — Major Pronin (with Andrey Bilzho and Alyona Kirtsova), restaurant interior, Moscow.
* 2007 — Guggenheim Biennale Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, exhibition pavilion project (with Andrey Savin).
* 2008 — Organic Culture Museum. Kolomna.
* 2011 — New Holland, St. Petersburg, cultural complex project (with Georgy Solopov).
* 2011 — North Caucasus Center for Contemporary Art. Vladikavkaz, (with Georgy Solopov).
* 2015 — Golitsyn Estate. Reconstruction and adaptation project (with Georgy Solopov). The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
* 2016 — Zaryadye Underground Museum, Moscow (with Georgy Solopov).
* 2017 — Solzhenitsyn’s Cenotaph. Moscow.

## Links

* Official English website