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Alexander Kosolapov "Mickey Lenin Malevich" bronze and wood sculpture n° 2/3

Creator: Alexander Kosolapov -Disney Studios
Offered by: Modernism Fortuna

Description
Alexander Kosolapov (Russian/American, b. 1943)

"Mickey Lenin Malevich"

Bronze sculpture and wood base ( inspired by Malevich Arkhitektons)
Provenance : Galerie Vallois
Expo sept/oct. 2010
Model Presented at the exhibition 'Alexander Kosolapov: Lenin and Coca-Cola' at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. (29 Nov 2017?—?11 Feb 2018

Bronze with a golden brown patina, height 39 cm,H with “Malevich base” 132 cm
Signed "A. KOSOLAPOV" and numbered ? on the bronze base on the reverse, title provided by the artist
Condition: Bronze perfect, small dirt on the base
(certificate of authenticity provided)

N.B. Alexander Kosolapov's sculptures, paintings, and prints provoke harsh criticism, sometimes censorship, and often humor. His jokes are not partisan—they poke at both Russia and the United States. He appropriates imagery from Soviet history, pop culture, religion, and art history that he combines in often subversive ways. Taking a cue from Andy Warhol, Kosolapov delights in iconic symbols of American consumerist culture. For Kosolapov, these include Mickey Mouse, Marlboro, and Coca-Cola, images of which he links with political and religious figures central to Russian culture, including Stalin, Lenin, and Christ. He never forgets his place in the continuum of art history, often including some nod to artists who preceded him.

In Mickey-Lenin, the major players are obvious: Mickey Mouse and Vladimir Lenin, and the connotations come easily: East-West, Russia-United States, communism-capitalism, good-evil, and high-low. Kosolapov modeled the figure's body after statues of Lenin by the Soviet sculptor Nikolai Tomsky, and its pose is that of a classical Roman figure sculpted in the traditional medium of bronze. Kosolapov developed the idea for Mickey-Lenin shortly after immigrating to the United States in 1975. He found the discarded plastic head of a Mickey Mouse toy, took it home, and placed it atop a small sculpture of Lenin that he kept on his desk.

Kosolapov identifies with a movement known as Sots Art. Developed in Moscow in the 1970s by the art duo Komar and Melamid, Sots Art (an abbreviation of "socialist pop art") reacted against the conformist, state-sanctioned style of Socialist Realist art and the bold graphic style of Soviet state propaganda by using their imagery in Dadaist artworks and conceptual performances. By the 1980s, the Soviet government recognized the political criticism of Sots Art and began to put pressure on artists associated with the movement to emigrate. Still wary of political criticism, Russian authorities do not roll out the red carpet for Kosolapov. Artworks in a 2003 group show, Caution! Religion!, at the Andrei Sakharov Museum in Moscow, to which he contributed works including a print entitled This Is My Blood (a depiction of Christ next to the Coca-Cola logo),were vandalized by Russian Orthodox radicals, eventually resulting in the arrest of the exhibition curator, museum director, and one of the artists. The same museum director and a curator were arrested again after the group show, Forbidden Art 2006, in which Kosolapov also participated.
Collections

The works are represented in different collection and museums including:

Museum Of Modern Art, MOMA, New York
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
New York Public Library, New York
Kupferstift Kabinet, Berlin
Albertina, Wien
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York
National Jewish Museum, B’nay B’rith Klauthznik, Washington
The State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg
The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Museum of art, The Duke University, N.C.
Wihlhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen
The State-Zarizin Museum, Moscow
Zimmerly Art Museum, Rutgers, New Jersey
Art Museum University of South Florida, Tampa
Moderna Galerija Ljubljana, Slovenia
Museum Moderner Kunst, Stiftung Worlen, Passau
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Origin:	United States
Period:	2000-2021
Materials:	Bronze,Wood
Condition:	Excellent. Wear consistent with age and use.
Creation Date:	2002
Styles / Movements:	Modern, Contemporary
Incollect Reference #:	623092