Yuri Zlotnikov (1930–2016) – is one of the undisputed classics of Russian contemporary art scene, one of the first abstractionists of the Thaw period. Zlotnikov’s use of the system approach to the creation of artistic language distinguishes his work when compared to other ways in which Abstractionism is represented within the Neo Avant-Garde. This to some extent makes him a successor of the artistic systems of V. Kandinsky and P. Mondrian. He created his own “signal system”, where he combined the artistic approach and scientific methods. His works had a huge impact on the development of Russian contemporary art.
Yuri Zlotkikov was born in 1930 in Moscow. From 1943 to 1950 he studied at Moscow Secondary Art School at the USSR Academy of Arts. At the same time he was engaged in a sculpture studio at the museum of A.S. Golubkina led by A.I. Grigoryeva. He attended lectures at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, visited the house of the Favorsky-Efimov. From 1954 to 1856 Zlotnikov worked at the Bolshoi Theater as a student – decorator together with A. Tyshler, V. Ryndin. I. Rabinovich. In the mid-1950s, Yuri Zlotnikov began to engage in abstract art after attending lectures on cybernetics and mathematics. His interests in a close circle of like-minded people were shared by artists V. Slepyan and B. Turetsky. In 1956-1957 Zlotnikov developed the “Signal System” in the visual arts, within the framework of which there is a thorough rapprochement of the scientific and artistic paradigms.
In 1972 he was admitted to the Moscow Union of Artists. He was awarded the silver medal of the Russian Academy of Arts in 1998. In 1990-2000 he continued his plastic experiments working on the series: “Spatial constructions”, “Jerusalem”, “Spatial combinatorics”, “Polyphony” and others. In these series he constantly made unexpected creative discoveries.
Zlotnikov passed away in 2016 in Moscow. The artist left a rich legacy for future generations.
2018 Yuri Zlotnikov. Cosmology of the artist: Personal mythology. Nadja Brykina Gallery, Moscow
2016 Yuri Zlotnikov. From private collections of Tsukanov Family Foundation, Mikhail Alshibaya, Mark Kurtser, АRT4 Museum. Multimedia Art Museum. Moscow
2015 Painting — analysis of the psychophysiology of the person and representation of his existential space. Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery, Moscow
2013 Yuri Zlotnikov: painting and graphics of 1957-2013. Samara museum of Fine Arts. Samara
2011 Space of Yuri Zlotnikov. Moscow Museum of Modern Art. Moscow
2010 Yuri Zlotnikov. Bewegung. Raum / Yuri Zlotnikov. Movement. Space. Nadja Brykina Gallery. Zürich. Switzerland
2008 The State Russian Museum. Marble Palace. Saint Petersburg
2004 The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow
2003 Yuri Zlotnikov and Alexander Konstantinov. Discrete and concrete. National Center for Contemporary Art. Moscow
2002 Art festival. Delhi. India
2001 Zietman Gallery. Berlin
2000 Solyanka VPA (Video, Perfomance, Animation). Moscow
1992 Club of the municipality. Ma’a lot. Israel
1990 Space, color, pulse. Jerusalem Artists House. Jerusalem. Israel
1990 Space, color, pulse. Center for Contemporary Art. Moscow
1990 Festival of Russian art, Helsinki. Finland
1985 Central House of Architects. Moscow
1978 A one-day exhibition and evening in Moscow Artist’s house. Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1977 The Institute of art history under the Ministry of culture of the USSR. Moscow
1972 Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
2019 Geo-metry in culture of XX-XXI centuries. 100th Anniversary of Bauhaus. NCCA. Moscow
2019 Abstraction in Avantgarde. Center of contemporary art by named of Sergey Kuryokhin. Saint Petersburg
2019 Between Zero and One. Alexander Pankin and the Avant-gardes. MMOMA. Moscow
2016-2017 KOllEKTSIA! Contemporary Art in the USSR and Russia. 1950-2000. A Major Donation. Centre George Pompidou. Paris. France
2016 Three: Mikhail Roginsky, Boris Turetsky, Yuri Zlotnikov. Central House of Artists. Moscow
2016 The Moscow Thaw: 1953-1968. The State Tretyakov Gallery. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Art.
2011 Moscow. Homage to Malevich. Nadia Brykina Gallery. Moscow
2010 Visual / Speculative. National Center for Contemporary Art. Moscow
2010 The field of action. Moscow conceptual school and its context. Cultural Foundation Ekaterina. Moscow
2006 Time for a change. Art between 1960-1985 in Soviet Union. The State Russian Museum. Saint Petersburg
2004 Moscow – Berlin / Berlin – Moscow. 1950-2000. Modern look. The State Historical Museum. Moscow
2003 Moscow abstraction. The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow
2001–2002 Abstraction in Russia. The 20th century. The State Russian Museum. Saint Petersburg
2002–2004 Moscow time. Contemporary Art Center. Vilnius. Lithuania. Nizhniy Novgorod. Kirov. Yoshkar-Ola. Stavropol. Petrozavodsk. Russia
2001 10th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art. New Delhi. India
1998 Workshop of constructivism. Geometry. Structure. Ornament. Colour. The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow
1994 Moscow artists. New view. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1993 Adresse provisoire pour l’art contemporain russe. Temporary address for Russian contemporary art. Musée de La Poste. Paris. France
1992 Classic museum and contemporary art. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Moscow
1991 Contemporary artist to Malevich. The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow
1991 Diaspora. Central House of Artists. Moscow
1991 Adligheten i Rysk Konst. Galleri Otso. Helsinki. Finland
1990–1991 Another art. Moscow 1956–1976. State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow – State Russian Museum. Leningrad
1990 Soviet Contemporary Art. Feldman Fine Art Auctioneers. New York. USA
1990 Four artists from Moscow. Artist’s house. Tel Aviv. Israel
1990 Perestroika Art, année 5. Perestroika Art, year 5. Galerie L’Orangerie. Saint Paul de Vence. France
1990 Soviet Contemporary Art. The Property of the Kniga collection. The Puck Building (Habsburg, Feldman, Inc. of Geneva. Fine Art Auctioneers). New York
1989 Moscow Artists in London. Riverside Artist’s Group. London. United Kingdom
1988-1989 Labyrinth. New art from Moscow. Hamburg. Germany; Warsaw. Poland; Moscow Youth Palace. Moscow. Russia
1988 Scientific progress and art. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1988 2nd exhibition of the First creative association. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1988 Geometry in art. Exhibition hall “On Kashirka”. Moscow
1988 Arts festival. Baghdad. Iraq
1988 Exposition de la peinture sovietique. Exhibition of soviet painting. Galerie de France. Paris. France
1988 Graphics of Moscow artists: the City and the World. Central House of Artists. Moscow
1988 Self-portrait in works of Moscow artists. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1987 The artist and modernity. First exhibition of the First creative association. Exhibition hall “On Kashirka”. Moscow
1987 A retrospective of the works of Moscow artists. 1957-1987. Amateur Association “Hermitage”. exhibition hall at Profsoyuznaya, 100. Moscow
1986 17th exhibition of young artists. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
Scientific progress and art. Central House of Artists. Moscow
1985 Exhibition of works by Moscow artists. Central House of Artists. Moscow
1984 Avant-garde in painting and music. One-day exhibition. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1980 Exhibition of works by Moscow artists. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1979 Exhibition of artists-teachers. The Central Pioneers’ Palace. Moscow
1978 Leo Tolstoy in the fine arts. State Museum of Leo Tolstoy. Moscow
1972 One-day exhibition of Moscow graphics. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1966 Exhibition of young Moscow artists. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1962 Exhibition of works by Moscow artists. “Illusion” and “Udarnik” cinemas
1956 -1978 Apartment exhibitions. Moscow
- Le centre national d’art et de culture contemporaine Georges Pompidou. Paris. France
- National Museum of Art. Saint-Paul-de-Vence. France
- Galerie de France. Paris. France
- George Olivier Galerie. Paris. France
- Binet Gallery. Tel-Aviv. Israel
- Engel Gallery. Jerusalem. Israel
- Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. Collection of Norton and Nancy Dodge, New Jersey. USA
- The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow
- The State Russian Museum. St.Petersburg
- The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Moscow
- Moscow Museum of Modern Art. Moscow
- RU Contemporary Art Museum. Moscow
- National Center for Contemporary Arts. Moscow
- State Literature Museum. Moscow
- Tolstoy National Museum, Moscow
- State Historical, Architectural, Art and Landscape Museum-Reserve Tsaritsyno. Moscow
- Sakharov Museum. Moscow
- Far Eastern Art Museum. Khabarovsk. Russia
- Collection of G. Pospelov and M. Reformatorskaya. Moscow
- Collection of V. Dyakov. Moscow
- Collection of V. Dudakov. Moscow
- Collection of R. Klimov. Moscow
- Collection of L. Talochkin. Moscow
- Collection of R. Babichev. Moscow
- The Bar-Gera Collection.Cologne. Germany
- Collection of Brykina. Zurich – Moscow
2001 Working class movement in Russian fine arts of 1923—2002. Solyanka VPA (Video, Perfomance, Animation). Moscow
2001 The epoch of Sakharov. To the 80th anniversary of Andrei Sakharov. Moscow
2000 Modern constructivism. “Dom” club. Moscow
2000 Festival of artists of the CIS – “Volte-face”
1999 The idea of the USSR Museum. Sakharov Center. Moscow
1995 Portraits of V. Favorsky. Problems. Process. “Solyanka” Gallery. Moscow
1994 Moscow artists. New view. Moscow Artist’s house at Kuznetsky most. Moscow
1986 Art and scientific progress (“Russian Utopia” section). Central House of Artists. Moscow
1963 Exhibition of works by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (in collaboration with K. Simonov and V. Kostin). The Central House of Writers. Moscow
