A mosaic, colorful and pregnant with meaning, draws attention like one of those found in Moscow's famous subway stations. But this one is somehow different. From a distance wave cosmonauts on their way into an outer space promising a new future. On their helmets, the "CCCP" recalls Soviet hopes for success in politics and science. To reach the image in the installation "Back to the Future", which tickles your curiosity, you follow an improvised office corridor. But the image is only partially accessible – a wall blocks your way. The mosaic is a trompe-l'œil, made of synthetic and painted sample tiles. The artist links political propaganda and consumer society advertising slogans with everyday banalities.
Irina Korina, a trained stage decorator, is fond of industrially produced surfacing materials such as wallpaper, oilcloth, mosaics, Styrofoam tiles, ceiling tiles, PVC, woodlook or flowerprint strips, which often appear in her installations. With "camouflage" and "bricolage" as artistic strategies, she repeatedly tackles the phenomena of artistically generated and illustrated nature. She is a master of the spatial and monumental format. Her works are often directly related to society, drawing their themes from media and events culture. Irina Korina consciously distances herself from the "Moscow Conceptualists" understanding of installation, one defined by one of Russia's leading artists, Ilya Kabakof and which still influences the younger artists of the Russian Confederation.
The Moscow Museum of Modern Art presented an extensive exhibition of Irina Korina's works at the beginning of 2009; which allowed a first overview of her plastic works of the last ten years.
Curator: Dr. Sabine Maria Schmidt
Opening hours RWE Tower: Mo–Fr 10–6
Entrance Free
More information on rwe.com