Andrei Molodkin
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Andrei Molodkin (
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
: Андрей Молодкин; born 1966) is a Russian born conceptual artist living and working in Paris, France.


Biography

Molodkin was born in
Buy, Kostroma Oblast Buy () is a town in Kostroma Oblast, Russia, which stands on the Kostroma River. Population: History Buy was originally a trading post and protected by a hill fortress of Finno-Ugrian Meri people c. 400–500 CE. Its original M ...
, a small town in North-Western Russia. He served in the Soviet Army for two years from 1985 to 1987 transporting missiles across Siberia. He later graduated from the Architecture and Interior design department at the
Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry Russian State University of Design and Applied Arts (Stroganov University) () informally named Stroganovka (Строгановка) is one of the oldest Russian schools for the industrial, monumental and decorative art and design. The university i ...
in 1992.


Work and career

Molodkin's practise comprises drawing, sculpture and installation. His drawings are made in ball-point pen, an implement that references his experiences in the Soviet Military "where soldiers would receive two Bics a day to write letters", they are often "laboriously drawn replicas of mass-media images". His sculptures and installations often employ materials techniques and practices common in engineering "Molodkin creates a complex mechanical system consisting of air compressors, cast-iron pumps, and plastic tubing" that pump liquids (most commonly blood and/or crude oil) around hollowed perspex replicas of sculptures and architecture, as well as politically loaded words and phrases. According to Douglas Rogers, author of 'The Depths of Russia: Oil, Power and Culture After Socialism', "His olodkinwork draws attention to the technical systems that channel political and economic configurations and to the ways in which words, concepts and spaces can be colored, inflected, shaped and filled by their associations with oil." In 2009, Molodkin was invited to participate in the Russian Pavilion of the 53rd
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
, the exhibition was named 'Victory Over The Future'. For the Pavilion Molodkin submitted his 2009 work 'Le Rouge et le Noir', a multimedia installation that featured a two hollow acrylic block replicas of the statue of
Nike of Samothrace The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Niké of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally discovered on the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating ...
, a Hellenistic sculpture on permanent display at the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
depicting
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
, the Greek goddess of victory. The installation featured the blood of a Russian soldier and veteran of the
Chechen War Chechen War may refer to: * Chechen–Russian conflict, 1785–2017 * Caucasian War, 1817–1864 * Murid War, 1829–1859, a.k.a. Russian Conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan * 1940–44 insurgency in Chechnya * First Chechen War, December 1994–Aug ...
being mixed, using a system of pumps, with Chechen oil inside the cavities of the blocks. The piece was deemed too controversial leading to the pavilion's curator removing the description of the piece from display. A 2013 exhibition by Molodkin in the
Void Gallery The Void (or VOID) gallery is a contemporary art gallery and events space in Waterloo Place, Derry, Northern Ireland. It began in 2003. Vivianna Chechia has been its director since May 2023, replacing Eamonn McCann. In 2021 it moved to a new lo ...
in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
entitled 'Catholic Blood' was created specifically for the context of Derry and Northern Ireland. 'Catholic Blood' tapped into contentious historical divides in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, as its subject is based in the
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 ( 10 Geo. 4. c. 7), also known as the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that removed the sacramental tests that barred Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom f ...
and a particular clause of the British constitution that reportedly forbids any MP from advising the sovereign on ecclesiastical matters if they are of the Catholic faith, though this was disputed by Dr Bob Morris, an expert in constitutional affairs at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
. Molodkin correctly asserted, "Yes, but there have been no Catholic prime ministers, perhaps when we talk about it we will get one." The work was controversial in its choice of materials which consisted of blood donated by local Catholics, a specification that was met with resistance. The project required the participation of the public, thirty-six people came forward to donate their blood, including the son of a Catholic Priest. The piece was constructed from hollowed acrylic blocks, mirroring the rose window of the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
. A pharmaceutical fridge contained samples of donated human blood and an industrial compressor pumped this blood through the cavity of the rose window in the acrylic block. This was simultaneously filmed and projected onto the gallery walls. Molodkin, reflecting on the exhibition and the vociferous reaction, stated: "Some people were angry that I hadn't used both Catholic and Protestant blood. They felt cheated that I had only chosen to use Catholic blood. It was never my intention to mix religions – the intensity is in the separation. In 2024, in an installation called "Dead Man's Switch," Molodkin placed $45M worth of Rembrandt, Picasso and Warhol masterpieces in a 29-tonne, 13 ft by 9 ft Swiss safe at his studio. The safe contains a pneumatic pump connecting two barrels, one with acid powder and the other with an accelerator that could cause a chemical reaction strong enough to turn the safe's contents to debris within two hours. Molodkin says he'll destroy the artwork if
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
dies in prison, or if the police and activists tries to seize the artwork from him. He currently lives and works between the French capital,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and
Maubourguet Maubourguet (; Gascon: ''Mauborguet'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France, in the Occitanie region. Historically, Maubourguet belonged to the County of Bigorre. The town is situated at the crossing of t ...
in Southern France. His work is held in a number of significant public and private collections, including the
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
national collection.


Solo exhibitions

2014 *Transformer No.M208, Ducal Palace, Genova. 2013 *Immigrant Blood, Patricia Dorfmann Gallery, Paris. *Catholic Blood, Void Gallery, Derry. *Post-Utopian Simulacrum, Wooson Gallery, Daegu. *Crude, American University Museum, Washington, D.C. 2012 *Liquid Black, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich. 2011 *Crude, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston. *Transformer No.V579, Art Sensus Gallery, London. *Sincere, Galleria Pack, Milan. *Crude, Art Sensus, London 2010 *Absolute Return, Orel Art Gallery, Paris. 2009 *Andrei Molodkin: Liquid Modernity (Grid and Greed), Orel Art Gallery, London.
*Swiss Passion, Priska Pasquer Gallery, Cologne. *Oil Evolution, Daneyal Mahmood Gallery, New York. 2008 *Guts à la Russe, Orel Art Gallery, Paris. 2007 *Direct From The Pipe, ANNE+ Art Projects, Ivry sur Seine,France. *G8, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland *Sweet Crude American Dream, Daneyal Mahmood Gallery, New York 2006 *Cold War II, Orel Art Gallery, Paris *Empire at War, Daneyal Mahmood Gallery, New York *Sweet Crude Eternity, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland 2005 *Sweet crude Eternity, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York 2004 *Notre Patrimoine, European Parliament, Brussels *Trash resources, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York 2003 *Love Copyright, Orel Art Presenta Gallery, Paris *Love Copyright, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York 2002 *Polius, Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière, Orel Art Presenta Gallery, Paris *Carré Noir Gallery, Paris 2001 *Novo Novosibirsk, The Marble Palace, Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg *Blue Dream, Freud's Dream Museum, St. Petersburg 1999 *Novo Novosibirsk, Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière, Paris


Literature

*Andrei Molodkin: ''Post-Utopian Simulacrum'', eds. Wooson Gallery, Daegu, 2013. *Andrei Molodkin: ''Crude'', eds. Silvana Editoriale, The Station Museum, Houston, 2013. *Andrei Molodkin: ''Absolute Return'', eds. Silvana Editoriale, Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne Métropole, France, 2011. *Andrei Molodkin: ''Holy Oil'', 2010. *Andrei Molodkin: ''Liquid Modernity'', 2009. *Andrei Molodkin: ''Cold War II'', eds. Victor Tupitsyn and Margarita Tupitsyn, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, Zurich, 2007.


References


External links

*
Interview with Molodkin in The Times

BBC feature on Molodkin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molodkin, Andrei 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters 21st-century Russian painters Living people 1966 births 20th-century Russian male artists 21st-century Russian male artists Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry alumni