Conceptual artist Ilya Kabakov died

Conceptual artist Ilya Kabakov has died at the age of 89. This was announced by the Ilya and Emilia Kabakov Foundation.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Ilya Kabakov, a great artist, philosopher, beloved husband, dear father and adored grandfather. A man who dreamed of utopia all his life left this world surrounded by his loved ones, before reaching his 90th birthday, ”the foundation said.

Kabakov is a representative of Moscow conceptualism, a trend that emerged in the unofficial art of the USSR in the early 1970s. Kabakov was called the most famous contemporary post-Soviet artist in the world.

It is believed that Kabakov was the first artist to expose the ugliness of Soviet life to a Western audience, and became famous for his installations. His work is exhibited in museums around the world and sold for millions of dollars.

His 1982 Beetle was sold in 2008 for $5.8 million, and the year before, Chambre de Luxe (Luxury Room) in 1981 for $4.1 million.

Kabakov was born on September 30, 1933 in Dnepropetrovsk and received his art education in Leningrad and then in Moscow. He emigrated from the USSR in the late 1980s and lived in New York.