YELENA & VIKTOR VOROBYEV

Many of their early collaborations criticized trivializing views of what constituted “fine” art and how to preserve it. By using found materials from nature and other sources, the Vorobyevs stressed the “neness” of mundane objects in works which were accompanied by a series of street performances / actions, entitled “Classic Bidding Farewells to People.” In 1999, they were invited to bring this project to the Istanbul Biennial, becoming the  rst artists from Kazakhstan to appear on the international art scene. They have been widely exhibited in Central Asia, Russia, and Europe. Being among the forefront of a generation of artists, they are affectionately remembered for their statement,” It is still unclear whether it is humanity that consumes the product or the product that consumes humanity,” is quoted with affection by a generation of artists.

A selection of major exhibitions include: Art from Central Asia: Contemporary Archive, Central Asia Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Italy (2005); Zones Of Contact, 15th Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2006); Time of the Storytellers, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland (2007); Progressive Nostalgia. Contemporary Art from the Former USSR. Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy (2007); + 007, National Centre for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia (2008); Tracing Roads Through Central Asia, Yerba Buena Center for Art, San Francisco (2008); Unrealized Projects, Stuttgarter Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany (2008); Making Interstices, Central Asia Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Italy (2009); Tarjama/Translation, Queens Museum of Art, New York, (2009).