Mikhail Koulakov

Mikhail Alexievich Koulakov (; 8 January 1933 – 15 February 2015) was a Russian abstract painter.

Early life and education Born in Moscow on 8 January 1933, Koulakov majored in stage design, studying with the painter and director Nikolai Akimov, at the Institute of Theatre Arts in Leningrad.

Career He worked as a graphic designer for the publishing company Lenizdat, illustrating the work of his friends, the poets V. Sosnora, G. Gorbovsky, S. Davydov, and the short stories and tales of Alexander Grin among others. Koulakov worked for theatres in Volchov, Leningrad and Moscow.

In 1967 he designed the stage set for Vladimir Mayakovsky's play ″The Bathhouse″ at the . Koulakov resided in Italy from 1976 until his death in 2015 and worked in his studio in San Vito (Narni), Umbria. In 1993 he was elected a senior academician of the Fine Arts Academy “Pietro Vannucci”, Perugia.

Death Koulakov died on 15 February 2015, aged 82.

Art

Koulakov was a representative of the Soviet avant-garde of the 1960s and one of the founders of the "Second Abstraction" in Russia; he graduated in set design under Nikolai Akimov, an artist and the director, at the Leningrad's Institute for Theatrical Arts in 1962, and started his career in Moscow and Leningrad where his works were displayed in alternative spaces to the prevailing socialist realism.

Martial arts

Koulakov was a tai chi 7th Dan master. In 1990 he published the book Tai Chi Chuan, il Grande Limite.

Exhibitions Anthological exhibitions His anthological exhibitions include: 1988: Auditorium of San Domenico (Narni) 1989: The Soviet Union Foundation of Culture, ex-riding school of the Czars in Leningrad and Riga Arsenal 1991: Architectural complex “San Michele a Ripa” in Rome 1993: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, State Ethnographic Museum, St. Petersburg, and Palazzo Ruspoli in Rome 1996: “Bibliomediateca” (Terni) 2003: CERP “Centro Espositivo Rocca Paolina” (Perugia)

Collective exhibitions Some of the collective exhibitions he has taken part: 1977: “Salon d'Art Sacre” in Paris 1977: “X Quadriennale” in Rome 1977: Venice Biennial “La nuova arte sovietica. Una prospettiva non ufficiale” 1979: “20 Jahre unabhaengiger Kunst aus der Sovjetunion”, Museum Bochum, Bochumkunstsammlung, Bochum 1994: “IV Biennale di Arte Sacra”, San Gabriele, Teramo 1995: “From Gulag to glasnost” Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection, Jane Vorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, USA 1996: “Non konformisty-Seconda avanguardia russa”, Collezione Bar-Ger: The Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg - State Tretjakov Gallery, Moscow - Staedel Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main - Kunsthaus, Leverkusen 1997: Josef Albers Museum, Quadrat Bottrop; “Arte Metro Roma” project, mosaic at Anagnina Metro Station, Rome 1998: “Anatomia Sovremennogo iskusstva” St. Petersburg 1999: “Die Suche nach der Freiheit. Moskauer Kuenstler der 50er und 70er Jahre”, Berlin-Hamburg; “Un colore in più”, Spazio Krizia, Milan 2000: “Un angelo per la città”, Rocca Paolina, Perugia 2001: “Abstrakzia v Rossii”, Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg 2003: “Moskovskaja abstrakzia, 2. polovina XX veka”, State Tretjakov Gallery, Moscow.

Personal Exhibitions

1964: House of Culture, Akademgorodok Novosibirsk 1966: Theatre of Satire, Moscow 1967: Institute of Physics, Moscow 1968: Institute of Physics, Erevan 1968: Institute of Physics and Chemics, Moscow 1969: House of Scientists Dubna, Moscow 1975: Libreria Internazionale Paesi Nuovi, Roma 1977: Galleria Trifalco, Roma 1977: International Institute, Minneapolis 1977: Banach Gallery, New York 1978: Galleria Trifalco, Roma 1979: Galerie Slavia, Bremen 1980: Galleria Cecchini, Perugia 1980: Cooperatriva Esperienze Culturali, Bari 1980: Galleria San Carlo, Napoli 1981: Galerie Basilisk, Wien 1984: Galleria Cortina, Milano 1985: Palazzo dei Priori, Perugia 1986: Galerie Schrepfer, München 1988: Galleria Trifalco, Roma 1988: Auditorium San Domenico, Narni 1989: Galerie Art East Art West, Hamburg 1989: Mugnano di Perugia 1989: Gallery of Soviet Culture Fund, Moscow 1990: Arsenal, Riga 1990: Manege, Leningrad 1990: Savitski Gallery, Pensa 1990: Galleria La Gradiva, Roma 1990: Galleria Il Bucchero, Ortebello 1991: Galleria Forzani, Terni 1991: Dostojevski Museum, Leningrad 1991: Yurjevski Monastery, Novgorod 1991: S. Michele a Ripa, Roma 1992: G. Braun Medienhaus, Karlsruhe 1992: Galerie Art Modern International, Aachen 1992: Galerie Kunst in der Scheune, Offenbach 1992: Castello Trecentesco, Celano 1993: Pushkin Museum, Moscow 1993: Palazzo Ruspoli, Roma 1993: Russian Ethnographic Museum, St. Petersburg 1993: Palazzo Petrignani, Amelia 1993: Galerie Weber, Berlin 1996: Bibliomediateca, Terni 1999: Spazio Arte, Perugia 1999: Banca d'Italia, Roma 2003: "Celare il cielo", Galleria Giulia, Roma 2003: "Genesi", Rocca Paolina, Perugia 2003: "Radici e Globalizzazione. Omaggio a Mikhail Koulakov", Palazzo Santoro Colella, Pratola Peligna 2005: "Verso l'autunno", l'Indicatore, Roma 2007: "Put geroia", Galereia Albom, Sankt Peterburg 2007: "Besoblachnoe vremia - Tempo senza nubi", Fond Era, Moskva 2008: "Il Sole, la Luna, l'Universo", Circolo Culturale l'Officina, Perugia 2008: Galleria Arte Contemporanea Sante Moretto, Vicenza 2008: "Potop mlechnyh putei. Diluvio delle vie lattee", State Tretyakov Gallery, Moskva 2008: "Fiori celesti", Palazzo Venezia, Roma 2011: "Signs of Spirituality", Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna GNAM, Roma 2011: H.C. Andersen Museum, Rome 2013: "80 anni tra Russia e Italia", Centro Russo di Scienze e Cultura, Roma 2015: "Mikhail Koulakov: Umbria seconda patria", Palazzo Vecchio, Sangemini 2016: "Mikhail Koulakov: Il Cosmo nel Gesto", Palazzo di Primavera, Terni 2019: "Mikhail Kulakov. The Style of the Thaw Period", MMOMA Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow