Irina Nakhova

Irina Nakhova explores the dichotomies between the grotesque body, with its close association to the maternal body, and the classical body. In an interactive installation, entitled Friends and Neighbors (1994), she paints life-size torsos of ancient Greek statuary on old overcoats collected from secondhand shops in Moscow. The viewer is invited to interact with the work.

This is ready-to-wear art; one can try on the ideal body, try on a different sex if desired. In a version of this installation, with electrical engineering by Per Biorn, the coats are displayed on dressmaker's dummies; when touched these headless perfect bodies respond by talking back to the viewer. Vituperative, seductive, nonsensical, or foreign speech, voicing the desires and anxieties of the contemporary self, emanate from these coolly classical bodies painted on shabby old overcoats.

About the Artist:
Irina Nakhova was born in Moscow in 1955 and studied at the Moscow Institute of Graphic Arts. Recent solo exhibitions of her work have been held at the Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York, Gallery 60 in Umea, Sweden, and the Cranbrook Art Museum. Currently she lives in New Jersey.

Introductory Essay by Jo Anna Isaak / Pictures from the Exhibition / List of Works / Excerpts of Essays included in the Catalog / History of the Exhibition / How to order a print copy of the catalog / About the Curator / Website Credits