Scene 30 (plate, folio 93) from The Dream of Abu-Said and Wind
Ilya Kabakov
American, born Russia. 1933–2023
1957-1990
A small color linoleum print enhanced with blue and black pencil, in which the maker encloses a solitary, stylized nude beneath a single lamp to turn a fleeting scene into a quiet, allegorical moment.
You’re struck by the frontal, almost childlike figure held inside a blue‑tinged, egg‑shaped aura with a lone shower‑like lamp suspended above, the naive outlines and muted palette giving the image an eerie, intimate stillness while handwritten notes on the gray mount feel like a personal annotation.
As one plate in a narrative series, it blends printmaking and text to forge a lyrical, conceptual approach that helped shape a postwar Russian art practice attentive to memory, isolation, and the power of modest, storylike imagery.
Medium
Linoleum cut, printed in color, with blue and black pencil additions
Dimensions
irreg. composition 7 x 4 9/16" (17.8 x 11.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Emilia Kanevsky and the artist
Accession
289.1991.30
Palette
Exhibitions
