Culture Now: Irina Korina

Moscow-based artist Irina Korina is in conversation with ICA Head of Programme, Katharine Stout.

Irina Korina is known for her installations of large-scale sculptures that weave narratives through the interplay of textures, material and scale. Her work often recalls the décor of ordinary Russian homes and Korina favours every-day, disposable and often industrially-produced materials for her works, ranging from textiles and plastic to plasticine. Within her installations the artist often contrasts allusions to local and global concerns, presenting epic ideas in tandem with colloquial and local references. Through these pseudo-monumental sculptures the artist addresses issues such as collective memory and social history. Korina currently presents her site-specific installation Destined to Be Happy at GRAD, London (until 28 Feb 2017).

Born in 1977 in Moscow, Irina Korina graduated as a set designer from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in 2000 and studied art at Valand Academy of Fine Arts, Gothenburg, Sweden, and at the Vienna Academy of Arts, Austria. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at the Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art and the Stella Art Foundation in Moscow, as well as recent group shows at the Saatchi Gallery in London and Kielhaus in Berlin. Korina has also participated in group exhibitions in the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato and the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen in Antwerp. She has been among the group of artists representing Russia in both the 53rd and 55th Venice Biennale in 2009 and 2013 respectively.