Vadim Fiškin

Russian-born, Slovenian-based artist Vadim Fiškin works in an unique post-conceptual tradition, which is intimately linked to technology and current scientific developments. However, any interest in technology and science is less a direct result of an engagement in these domains themselves than a by-product of what they can tell us about ourselves and such perennial issues as the search for faith and meaning, and the sense of futility known to reward such human enterprises. Indeed, in Fiskin’s practice, technology is granted a compact narrative and allegorical power, not to mention an absurd and poignant poetry.

And although Fishkin embraces the futility of technology, foregrounding the fatuity of the human desires and ambitions that animate it, he does it with a sharp and theatrical humor, ultimately imbuing it with a redemptive lightness.

Chris Sharp, an excerpt from the text Vadim Fishkin

Vadim Fiškin studied at the Moscow Institute of Architecture, from which he graduated in 1986. Fiškin’s main area of investigation is science and its study methods as he uses technological advances for essentially poetic purposes and many of his installations, sculptures, photographs, and drawings are informed by his distinctive sense of humor. His work has been presented in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including at four Venice Biennials (in 1995, 2003,  2005, 2017); the 1^st Valencia Biennial; the Manifesta 1, Rotterdam; the 3^rd Istanbul Biennial; the 8^th Baltic Triennial of International Art, Vilnius; eva+, Limerick; Casino Luxembourg, Luxembourg; the Secession, Vienna; Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris; FRAC Lorraine, Metz; Moderna galerija, Ljubljana, Galerija Gregor Podnar, Ljubljana; Galerija Škuc, Ljubljana; Contemporary Art Center, Moscow; Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; Palazzo dell Ragione, Milano; BAWAG Foundation, Vienna; ZKM, Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe; MACRO Museum for Contemporary Art, Rome; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston; and the Drawing Center, New York; 9^th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai.