fellows

Photo by Maria Ritsch

Gleb Amankulov (1988) is an artist born in Minsk and currently based in Vienna. He works with temporary site-specific arrangements using found and borrowed furniture / utensils / objects of interior design. In his practice he reflects upon the economy of art production, distribution of power and notions of identity. He’s also interested in displaying, underlining and challenging formal, contextual and historical aspects of used / found / borrowed objects as well as reflecting the context and space they appear in.

He completed his degree at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts in Minsk and at Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in sculpture and spatial strategies class by Prof. Monica Bonvicini and Prof. Iman Issa. He participated in various group exhibitions, his works have been shown at Leopold Museum, WAF Galerie, TWQ Wien, Hoast, Periscope Salzburg, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna etc.

He received Academy Prize 2022 and Kunsthalle Prize 2022, shortlisted for Ö1 Talent Grant 2022 and received Startstipendium bildende Kunst 2022 from Federal Ministry Republic of Austria.

Artist's Instagram.

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1. Ohne Titel - series of images, part of solo presentation 'Stalagmite Eyes' at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; 2022 © Manuel Carreon Lopez; 2. Career in carrier - piece for the group show 'Handeln im Jetzt' at Leopold Museum; 2022 © Manuel Carreon Lopez; 3. Salt Storage for the Mother Tongue - piece from the series of arrangments for the solo presentation 'Stalagmite Eyes' at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; 2022© Philipp Pess; 4. Exhibition view of solo presentation 'Stalagmite Eyes' at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; 2022 © Philipp Pess; 5. Small Rocks in Buckwheat Part I - part of the series of arrangments for the group show 'Three course Menu' at Fffriedrich (Frankfurt); 2022 © Esra Klein; 6. Untitled (Infoboard) - piece from the series of arrangments for the group show 'Poiesis of Composting' at Xhibit, Vienna; 2021 © Manuel Carreon Lopez; 7. Figure I (detail) - piece for the series of arrangments for the solo presentation 'Stalagmite Eyes' at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna; 2022 © Philipp Pess; 8. Hot Pursuit II - piece from the series of arrangments for the group show 'Poiesis of Composting' at Xhibit, Vienna; 2021 © Manuel Carreon Lopez
Artist statement

Precarious mode of living is directly reflected in the approach that I use in working with objects. It is one of the main aspects that forms my method – complete dependence on a certain place and available budget, the impossibility of long-term planning and the incapability of keeping the works after the show, the absence of irreversible manipulations with the objects, work under high pressure. 

Used domestic furnishings, appliances and found objects related to interior design are the materials for my sculptures; local thrift stores, flea markets, online marketplaces, trash containers and my friends and colleagues whom sometimes I borrow the things from – are my main sources of materials and inspiration. All the pieces are done specially for a particular space and event which also requires a certain time for work within the space itself. When the show is over the pieces are dismantled, the ‘materials’ are returned to their initial state. Shortly after dismantling, ‘materials’ are being sold or given for free to friends or strangers via online marketplaces.
Temporality and ephemerality are important qualities of my sculptures, and shimmering fluid practice is an opposition to rigid stable power structures, questioning the very concept of permanence and status quo. 

While working with the objects, I’m imagining their silent revolt, a masterly escape from utilitarian gaze and refusal to represent and perform any functions that they were meant to be produced for. I’m happy to join the objects in their sabotage. They change and exchange identities, they try out different states, they challenge each other and challenge me – and it’s never a surprise but a revelation. But does a whisper still stay a whisper when it gets as loud as a scream? 

Excerpts from the text Stalagmite Eyes, 2022.

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