In the Closet, 1998
Installation, 190 x 60 x 60 cm.
© Ilya & Emilia Kabakov. Photo: M HKA
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK7024_M186).
The small room between two walls that makes up In the Closet is decorated as a kind of improvised bedroom, with a bed, cabinets, and a number of personal objects. The small wooden door is left ajar, as to arouse the visitor's curiosity; inviting him to peek inside, the work takes on a slightly voyeuristic undertone. Attached to the wall inside is a text, in which Kabakov reminisces about the place where he used to go as a child to read and to dream. With In the Closet, Kabakov seems to attempt to recreate such a place for himself. The work exudes comfort and warmth, but at the same time, it's a refuge, a place to hide. The title, too, suggests that something is hidden: perhaps Kabakov alludes to his previous double life as a Soviet illustrator and subversive artist?
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>Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, In the Closet, 1998 (Installation view at M HKA)
>Installation view at M HKA
Artist
> Ilya & Emilia Kabakov .
Exhibitions & Ensembles
> Exhibition: The collection XVIII – Ontmoeting. MuHKA, Antwerpen, 15 March 2007 - 13 June 2007.
> Exhibition: The collection XXXIII – The Collection as a Character. M HKA, Antwerpen, 07 June 2013 - 22 September 2013.
> Exhibition: The Collection. M HKA, Antwerpen, 28 April 2017 - 31 December 2021.
> Exhibition: The Melancholy of Resistance. Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu, Torun, 06 November 2010 - 03 January 2011.
> Exhibition: The collection XIV – Spring 2006. M HKA, Antwerpen, 25 February 2006 - 23 April 2006.
> Exhibition: Ilya Kabakov – 16 installations. MuHKA, Anwerpen, 17 April 1998 - 20 September 1998.
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> Ensemble: M HKA_DEFAULT_WORKS.
> Ensemble: Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap.
> Ensemble: NUCLEUS.
> Ensemble: Audiodescriptie - De Collectie.
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> Ensemble: Total Installation.
> Ensemble: EUROPE AT LARGE.
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> Ensemble: An Architecture for Art - Ilya & Emilia Kabakov.