Galerie Brigitte Schenk

About the Presentation
Galerie Brigitte Schenk will present work by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov at Independent 20th Century. Ilya and Emilia Kabakov are renowned conceptual artists best known for their immersive installations that explore themes of utopia, memory, and the Soviet experience. Collaborating since the late 1980s, their work often blends fictional narratives with historical context, creating poetic and poignant reflections on individual and collective identity. Through their art, the Kabakovs invite viewers into richly imagined worlds that challenge both personal and political boundaries. Ilya & Emilia Kabakov received awards such as the Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2014, Gold Medal for Achievements in Art in 2014, Cartier Prize in 2010 and many more.

Little White Men by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov is a conceptual installation that reflects their characteristic blend of surrealism, narrative, and social critique. The work features small, white, ghost-like figures scattered across various settings, often engaged in strange or futile activities. These enigmatic figures evoke themes of alienation, invisibility, social role behavior and the absurdity of bureaucratic life—echoing the experience of the individual in Soviet society and, more broadly, in modern civilization. The installation invites viewers to contemplate the tension between presence and absence, and between personal agency and systemic control. As with much of the Kabakovs' work, Little White Men blurs the line between reality and fiction, using visual storytelling to provoke reflection on the human condition.