Gleb Amankulov

Biography
'Check Point Trap', 2023, metal table frame, glass plate, fireplace ash rake, wooden torch in metal case from the time of WWI, wooden decorative figure of a swan, expired Belarusian passport, 84 cm x 90 cm x 48 cm
'Check Point Trap', 2023, metal table frame, glass plate, fireplace ash rake, wooden torch in metal case from the time of WWI, wooden decorative figure of a swan, expired Belarusian passport, 84 cm x 90 cm x 48 cm

Born in Minsk, Belarus, 1988

Lives and works in Vienna, Austria

 

Gleb Amankulov’s practice focuses on the working conditions of art production, in part including the precarious elements of this mode of living, whilst challenging the commercialization of artistic production and the fetishization of the art object in both the economic and artistic domains. The composition of the sculptures, perhaps better described as assemblages, are imbued with an ephemerality that is both physical and conceptual. In this regard, the works are created from found objects and ultimately left unchanged in their materiality. The artist does not weld, break or otherwise render obsolete the original purpose of the object. Beyond this, once the period of the exhibition is complete the sculptures are then disassembled. The majority of the objects are then re-sold or donated individually in their original state and corresponding economic value or repurposed for new sculptures. This practice ultimately questions the permanence of the art-object and the fluidity of the practice exists in opposition to economic and cultural power structures within artistic production.
 
As part of this conceptual framework, a dominant aspect of Amankulov’s practice is the performative act of searching for objects with which to compose the temporary sculptures. Seeking these items Amankulov undergoes a consistent process of exploring local thrift stores, flea markets, online marketplaces and trash containers. Alongside this, elements of the final sculptures are borrowed from friends, colleagues and the institutions or exhibition settings within which the works are displayed. This process is ultimately tailored to the site-specificity of the works with an aim to challenge certain formal, contextual or historical aspects of the objects in relation to the space and socio-political conditions within which they are exhibited. Through this, the artist interrogates constrictions to the artistic practice including the physicality of the space itself, budget limitations and subjective aesthetic, political and ideological preferences. In conjunction with the site-specificity of the choice of objects, the final assemblages are also always created on-site eradicating the possibility of long-term planning and deliberately creating an environment for the artist where the direct creative process and existence of the object are both emphatically connected to the confines of the exhibition space and period.
 

EDUCATION

2022 Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna – Sculpture and Spatial Strategies, MA Fine Arts

(Prof. Monica Bonvicini; Prof. Iman Issa)

2013 Belarusian State Academy of Fine Arts, Minsk – Printmaking Department, BA

2007 College of Arts and Design, Minsk

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024  'Teilzeit in Senile Ties', COMMUNE, Vienna

2023 ‘In The Salt Storage’, Efes42, Linz, Austria
2022 ‘Stalagmite Eyes’ (2022), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 ‘Debt’, curated by Hana Ostan-Ožbolt-Hass, Salzburger Kunstverein

2024 'Mirage’, curated by Cathrin Mayer, Kunstverein Braunschweig

2024 ‘Fragment I’, COMMUNE, Vienna

2023 ‘Spinning around oneself’, with Andreia Santana, curated by Hugo Canoilas, WAF Galerie, Vienna

2023 ‘Über das Neue’, Belvedere 21, Vienna
2023 ‘Identity Paradox’, Improper Walls, Vienna

2023 ‘Unfreezing The Scene’, Kunsthalle Wien Prize 2022’, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna

2022 ‘Handeln im Jetzt’, Leopold Museum, Vienna

2022 ‘Separating Lines’, AG18 Gallery, Vienna

2022 ‘Three Course Menu’, Fffriedrich, Frankfurt

2022 ‘Ok, Regina’, Reginastrasse 16, Kassel

2021 ‘The Poiesis of Composting’, Xhibit, Vienna

2021 ‘CROP’, WAF Galerie, Vienna
2021 ‘Haus Wien’, Vienna
2021 ‘Oh Mini Golf!’ Kulturzentrum F23, Vienna ‘Becoming a Dog’, MUMOK Vienna

2021 ‘Secret Museum of Workers Movement’, Hoast, Vienna

2021 ‘G.E.L.’, Tanzqwartier Wien, Vienna

2020 ‘Exile Summer Camp’, Exile Gallery, Vienna

2020 ‘Haus & Freu(n)de’, Schweidlgasse 15/14, Vienna

2019 ‘WILD SPOERRI ROSENSTEIN’, Hotel am Brilliantengrund, Vienna

2019 ‘The Track of Time’, Periscope, Salzburg

 

AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS / FELLOWSHIPS

2024 Nominated for 'Belvedere Art Prize'

2023 ‘Arbeitsstipendium 2024’, City of Vienna

2023 ‘WHW Akademija Fellowship’, WHW, Zagreb

2022 ‘Academy Prize 2022’, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

2022 ‘Kunsthalle Prize’, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
2022 ‘Ö1 Talent Grant Shortlist’, ORF
2022 ‘Startstipendium bildende Kunst 2022’, BMKOE (2022)

Installation Views
'Teilzeit in Senile Ties', COMMUNE, 2024
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