Slava Mogutin
Russian Federation
2 Works exhibited on Kooness
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Works by Slava Mogutin
Slava Mogutin is a New York-based Russian-American multimedia artist and author exiled from Russia for his outspoken writings and activism. Informed by his bicultural dissident background and immigrant experience, Mogutin's work celebrates diversity and nonconformism encompassing the themes of displacement and identity; transgression and transfiguration of masculinity and queer sexualities; nihilism and religion; the clash of social norms and individual desires; the tension between attachment and disaffection, love and hate.
Born Yaroslav Yurievich Mogutin (Ярослав Юрьевич Могутин) in the industrial city of Kemerovo, Siberia, he left his family and moved to Moscow at age 14. A third-generation writer and self-taught journalist, he soon began working as a reporter and editor for the first independent Russian newspapers, publishers, and radio stations, such as Echo of Moscow, The Moscow Times, The Moscow Guardian, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Stolitsa, and Novy Vzglyad. He was hailed as one of the foremost voices of the post-Perestroika new journalism and the only openly gay personality in the Russian media.
By the age of 21, Mogutin had gained both critical acclaim and official condemnation and became the target of two highly publicized criminal cases, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to seven years. He was charged with “open and deliberate contempt for generally accepted moral norms,” “malicious hooliganism with exceptional cynicism and extreme insolence,” “inflaming social, national, and religious division,” “propaganda of brutal violence, psychic pathology, and sexual perversions.”
In 1994, Mogutin attempted to register officially the first same-sex marriage in Russia with his then-partner, American artist Robert Filippini. The attempt made headlines around the world, but only further fueled his persecution by the authorities. Forced to flee his country in 1995, Mogutin became the first Russian to be granted political asylum in the US on the grounds of homophobic persecution. His case for asylum was supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, Committee to Protect Journalists, and PEN American Center, setting the precedent for many other gay and lesbian refugees from the former USSR.
Upon his arrival in New York, Mogutin shifted his focus to visual art and started using his nickname Slava—"glory" or "fame" in Russian—as his artist name. His photography and multimedia work have been exhibited internationally, including MoMA PS1 and Museum of Arts and Design in New York; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco; The Pacific Design Center in LA; Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston; Moscow Museum of Modern Art; Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney; Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam; Overgaden Institute of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen; Estonian KUMU Art Museum in Tallinn; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC) in Spain; The Haifa Museum of Art in Israel, and, most recently, in his first US museum solo show at iMOCA, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art.
Mogutin's work was included in the program of the 1st Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2005), 15th Tallinn Print Triennial (2008), 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art and 56th La Biennale di Venezia, as part of Jaanus Samma's NSFW. A Chairman’s Tale at the Estonian Pavilion (2015). His photography has been published in a wide range of publications, including BUTT, Flash Art, Modern Painters, i-D, Dazed & Confused, Visionaire, L’Uomo Vogue, Stern, Libération, The Guardian, and The New York Times. He is a regular contributor to Gayletter, The Calvert Journal, Whitewall, Vice, Flaunt, The Stranger, and Document Journal.
Mogutin is the author of two critically acclaimed monographs of photography published in the US, Lost Boys and NYC Go-Go (powerHouse Books, Brooklyn, 2006/2008), and seven books of writings in Russian. In 2000, he was awarded the Andrei Bely Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Russia. His poetry, fiction, essays, and interviews had appeared in numerous publications and anthologies in ten languages. He has translated into Russian selected writings of Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Dennis Cooper.
Mogutin has lectured extensively throughout the US, including Columbia University, Yale, Harvard, Harriman Institute, Grinnell College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Parsons The New School for Design, and School of Visual Arts. As an actor he appeared in Bruce LaBruce’s agitprop porn film Skin Flick (1999) and Laura Colella’s independent feature Stay Until Tomorrow (2004). His commercial credentials include still photography for the HBO series Looking (2013), film commission for Please Do Not Enter (2014), collaborations with Gosha Rubchinskiy and Lotta Volkova (2016), CV22-Rugby (2017), and Helmut Lang (2019), as well as commission portraits and fashion editorials.
In 2011, Mogutin was naturalized as a US citizen and legally changed his name to Slava. He continues to write in Russian and English and remains a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and his recent anti-gay policies. In 2014, Mogutin released his first collection of writings in English, Food Chain (ITNA Press, Brooklyn). His latest photography monograph, Bros & Brosephines, was published in 2017 by powerHouse Books, followed by the illustrated Straight to Hell edition, Pictures & Words (2018). He is currently at work on a bilingual collection of poetry and a book of essays and interviews covering over two decades of his journalistic work, Gay in the Gulag.
Selected solo exhibitions
2019 - XXX Files, online exhibition at Tom of Finland store
2018 - Lost Boys (traveling exhibition), Galerie Kernweine, Stuttgart, Germany
2016 - Lost Boys: From Russia with Love, outdoor public exhibition at Artwall, Letna Park, Prague
2014 - AMORESUPERM, La Fresh Gallery, Madrid
2014 - SUPERM FRUIT, Please Do Not Enter, Los Angeles
2014 - De Rusia con Amor, Galeria casaBrandon, Buenos Aires
2013 - In the Name of Love, curated by Karla Romero, iMOCA, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art
2013 - Intimate Portraits (two-person show with Maripol), The Impossible Project, NYC
2013 - Take Five, Lomography Gallery Store, NYC
2012 - Beauty and Hell (SUPERM; a two-part show in two venues), envoy enterprises, NYC
2011 - Suddenly Last Summer, curated by Diego Cortez, AS IF Gallery, Herlem, NYC
2011 - Interpenetration (SUPERM), La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
2010 - Lost Boys (traveling exhibition), La Fresh Gallery, Madrid
2009 - Food Chain, envoy enterprises, NYC
2009 - Lost Boys (traveling exhibition), Galeria Pauza, Krakow, Poland
2009 - Lost Boys (traveling exhibition), Galerie Terre Rouge, Kulturfabrik, Esch, Luxembourg
2008 - White Is Dirty When Ugly (SUPERM), envoy enterprises, NYC
2008 - SPUTNIK3 (SUPERM + Gio Black Peter), Galleri S.E, Bergen, Norway
2007 - Slava Mogutin and Justin Beal (two-person show), Bortolami Gallery, NYC
2007 - But Her Majesty’s Roastbeef Curtains Wouldn’t Open For Him (SUPERM), Blow de la Barra Gallery, London
2006 - Slava Mogutin: Photography and Video, Allmänna Galleriet 925, Stockholm
2005 - Wiggers in Berlin (SUPERM), Galerie Deschler, Berlin
2005 - Белый Негр/Wigger (SUPERM), Regina Gallery, Moscow
2004 - No Love, Rare Gallery, NYC
2003 - Lost Boys, Rare Gallery, NYC
Selected group exhibition
2019
Photography After Stonewall, curated by Larry Davis and Bill Travis, Soho Photo Gallery, NYC (upcoming)
(No) Fun, curated by Jimi Dams, Empirical Nonsense, NYC
2018
The Violators, curated by Gio Black Peter, Studio UZI, Brooklyn, and Leslie-Lohman Project Space, NY
Hollywood 2.0, curated by Jack Sanders and Homosurrealism Magazine, Touchon&Co Gallery, LA
Sound & Noise, curated by Erik Raynal x SORT Zine, Space_31, Berlin
New Chic, curated by Arnis Balčus and Alnis Stakle, Riga Photomonth, Riga Congress Center, Latvia
2017
Golden Boundaries: Youth Culture in Contemporary Photography, curated by Kata Oltai, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest, Hungary
Intersectional Identities, curated by Sam Gordon and Jacob Robichaux, Clifford Chance, NYC
9999, curated by Edsel Williams, The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
University of Disasters, curated by Matthew Grumbach, Bortolami Gallery, NYC
HE: Questioning and Queering Masculinity, curated by Robert Summers and Stiofan O’Ceallaigh, Last Projects, LA
Baby, I Like It Raw: Post-Eastern Bloc Photography and Video, curated by Marie Tomanova and Thomas Beachdel, Czech Center New York
2016
Tomorrow Never Happens, curated by Richard Rinehart, Samek Art Museum, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania (as SUPERM; catalog)
App & Down, curated by Topacio Fresh (as SUPERM), Centro Cultural La Térmica, Málaga, Spain (catalog)
Piss Elegant, curated by Billy Miller of Straight to Hell, Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, The LGBT Community Center, NYC
My Gay Eye, curated by Simon Williams & Rinaldo Hopf, The Ballery, Berlin
2015
Yesterday We Wanted To Be The Sky, Kamarade, Stockholm, Sweden; curated by C-Print Journal
Identalterity, The 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, curated by Syrago Tsiara and Theodore Markoglou, Thessaloniki Municipal Hall, Greece
Interface: Queer Artists Forming Communities through Social Media, curated by Walt Cessna, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, NYC (catalog)
Faceless, curated by Bogomir Doringer, De Markten, Brussels, Belgium (traveling exhibition)
A Corps Perdus, curated by Marc Donnadieu, Galerie Gourvennec Ogor, Marseille, France
2014
Prague Pride: East Side Story, Karlin Studios, Prague; curated by Michal Novotný, Serena Fanara, Giulia Gueci
Queer Biennial l: LA/NY and parts in between, Coagula Curatorial, LA; curated by Ruben Esparza (catalog)
Guest List, The Impossible Project Barcelona, Espai Tactel, Valencia, and Mundano, Oporto, Spain; curated by Paco y Manolo (traveling exhibition, catalog)
Only The Good Ones: The Snapshot Aesthetic Revisited, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague; curated by Michal Nanoru (catalog)
Faceless: Seduction, Surveillance, Privacy, Mediamatic Fabriek, Amsterdam; curated by Bogomir Doringer (traveling exhibition)
That's How a Man Smells, Bitch! düo galerie, Paris; curated by CONGRATS! Magazine
2013
L'ère vulgaire passera, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris; curated by Patrik Schedler (catalog)
Take a Walk on the Wild Side: To Russia with Love. And to Lou Reed, Egbert Baqué Contemporary Art, Berlin
Faceless part 1, freiraum quartier21 International, MuseumsQuartier, Vienna; curated by Bogomir Doringer
Corps et Histoire, Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille, France
Making Waves, Daniel Cooney Fine Arts, NYC
Boy! Oh, boy! Casa de Costa, NYC; curated by Jason Costa and Josh McNey
I See Rainbows, -kunstplass 5, Oslo, Norway; curated by Bjørn Hatterud (catalog)
Queerussia: the hidden (p)art, Galerie MooiMan, Groningen, The Netherlands
Polari, True Love Gallery, Seattle, WA; curated by Steven Miller
2012
Up Against It, Munch Gallery, NYC; curated by Billy Miller
Portrait of a Genration, The Hole, NYC; curated by Kathy Grayson (catalog)
For Personal Use, The Impossible Project, NYC; curated by East Village Boys (SUPERM)
Androméstico, La Fresh Gallery, Madrid; curated by Guillermo Espinosa
FG.Ft – Fad Gadget, Frank Tovey; envoy enterprises, NYC; curated by Jimi Dams (catalog)
2011
View of Outer Space from an Aquarium, Famous Accountants, Brooklyn, NY; curated by Billy Miller
Act Like You're Fine: A Study on Obsession, Vacant Gallery, Tokyo; curated by iO Tillett-Wright
Qeering Sex, Human Resources, LA; curated by Kathryn Garcia and Sarvia Jasso
Surveying the Immigrant Experience, The LGBT Community Center, NYC; curated by Chris Hanway
My Spring Fling Turned Into My Summer Dream, Splatterpool Art Space, Brooklyn, NY; curated by j. morrison
For Love Not Money, The 15th Tallinn Print Triennial, KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia; curated by Eve Kask, Eha Komissarov, and Simon Rees (catalog)
2010
Altered Statehood (as SUPERM), Artists' Television Access, San Francisco; programmed by Billy Miller.
POSTERMAT, The Hole, NYC; curated by Kathy Grayson
Una Gran Familia, La Fresh Gallery, Madrid
The Infidels, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada; curated by Guy Berube
Streeple, Monat der Fotografie, Kunstraum Richard Sorge, Berlin; curated by Paulus Fugers (catalog)
Your Last Chance, The New York Art Book Fair, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY; curated by Billy Miller
50 Ways To Keep Your Lover, Galleri S.E, Bergen, Norway
T Minus 20, Christopher Henry Gallery, NYC; curated by Jason LeBlond and Ves Pitts
Because We Are, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas; curated by Tim Gonzalez (catalog)
2009
Summer Drunk Tank, City Art Rooms, Auckland, New Zealand; curated by Young Sun Han
MAD Paperball, Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
Love For Sale, The New York Art Book Fair, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY; curated by Billy Miller
Lyst (Lust), Overgaden Institute of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen; curated by Tomas Lagermand Lundme and Mathias Kryger
Don’t Worry It’s Only Money, City Art Rooms, Auckland, New Zealand; curated by Young Sun Han
Turn On, Slag Gallery, NYC; curated by Özkan Cangüven
Screwball Asses, The Company Gallery, Los Angeles; curated by Hedi El Kholti and David Jones
Get a Rope, CTRL Gallery, Houston, Texas; curated by Kathy Grayson
History of Violence, The Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; curated by Hadas Maor (SUPERM, catalog)
2008
It Ain’t Fair, O.H.W.O.W., The Art Basel Miami satellite group show curated by Tim Barber, Kathy Grayson, Andreas Melas, Dan Nadel, Pablo de la Barra, Nicola Vassell, and Terence Koh
Ossuary: Works on paper collected by Alex Rose, The Black Mariah, Cork, Ireland
I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl, ASS (Asia Song Society), NYC; curated by Anat Ebgi, Terence Koh, and Jenny Schlenzka (catalog)
Homoccult & Other Esoterotica, Collective Unconscious, NYC; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; curated by Daniel McKernan and Richie Rennt (SUPERM)
The Left Hand of Darkness, The Project, NYC; curated by Sarvia Jasso and Yasmine Dubois
2007
BodyPoliticX, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; curated by Florian Waldvogel (catalog)
Love Addiction: Practices in Video Art from ’61 to the Present, Galleria Comunale d'Arte Contemporanea, Monfalcone, Italy; curated by Andrea Bruciati (catalog)
The Male Gaze, The powerHouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY; curated by Nicholas Weist
The Brotherhood, Neon Parc, Melbourne, and Australian Centre for Photography (ACP), Sydney; curated by Shannon Michael Cane
2006
No Sleep ’til Brooklyn: A powerHouse Hip Hop Retrospective, The powerHouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY; curated by Sara Rosen
Globos Sonda/Trial Balloons, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC), León, Spain; curated by Octavio Zaya, Yuko Hasegawa, and Agustín Pérez Rubio (SUPERM, catalog)
Retro, Angell Gallery, Toronto; curated by Jamie Angell
2005
With Us Against Reality, or Against Us! Willy Wonka Inc., Oslo, and Galleri S.E, Bergen, Norway; curated by Ida Ekblad and Anders Nordby (catalog)
Log Cabin, Artists Space, NYC; curated by Jeffrey Uslip (SUPERM)
Post-Diaspora: Voyages and Missions, 1st Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow Museum of Modern Art; curated by Olga Kopenkina (catalog)
2004
Phiiliip: Divided by Lightning, Deitch Projects, Brooklyn, NY; curated by John Connelly
BlackBook: 25 Artists Interpret Fashion, Deitch Projects, NYC; curated by BlackBook Magazine
Sublime Audacity – The Stroller’s Experience, Galeria Luis Serpa Projectos, Lisbon, and Maus Habitos, Porto, Portugal (catalog)
PREMAculTURE, PS1 School, Hydra Island, Greece; curated by Dimitrios Antonitsis (catalog)
The Collector’s Cabinet, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles; curated by Simon Watson/Scenic
The Hunt For Your Family, V-1, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Odd Number, Stockholm, Sweden; curated by Loyal Magazine
Sexy Beasts: An Exploration of Sex and Sexuality in Art from 1964 – Present, Ethan Cohen Fine Art, NYC; curated by Robert Knafo
2003
Kult 48 Klubhouse, Deitch Projects, Brooklyn, NY; curated by Scott Hug
Snapshot Now, Angell Gallery, Toronto; curated by Randy Gladman
Kult 48, FIAC, Paris Expo; curated by Scott Hug
What About New York? A New New York Scene, Galerie du Jour agnès b., Paris; curated by Scott Hug
Corporate Profits Vs. Labor Costs, Now Playing, D'Amelio Terras, NYC; curated by John Connelly
Fox and His Friends: New Millennium Post-Gay Photography (With Fangs), Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh; curated by Edgar Um Bucholtz
Angst, Rare Gallery, NYC; curated by Peter Surace
2002
K48 Teenage Rebel – The Bedroom Show, John Connelly Presents, NYC; curated by Scott Hug
The Armory Photography Show, Javits Center, NYC
Small Works, Mimi Ferzt Gallery, NYC; curated by Christine Sperber
2001
The Muses, Leslie-Lohman Gallery, NYC; curated by Reed Massengill
2000
Other Works, Regina Gallery, Moscow
3rd Moscow Photo Biennale, Central House of Artists, Moscow; curated by Olga Sviblova (catalog)
Selected collaborations and performances
2018 - Food Chain, Museum of Human Achievement (MoHA), Austin, Texas
2016 - Poets 4 Orlando, Sheep Medow, Central Park, NYC
2016 - Gay Propaganda (with Billy Miller), Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, The LGBT Community Center, NYC
2016 - "Pilgrims" runway show (with Shayne Oliver and Hood by Air), New York Fashion Week, the Mail Sorting Room in Skylight at Moynihan Station, NYC
2015 - Coyote Ugly (with Agathe Snow), Albertz Benda, NYC
2015 - Allen Ginsberg's "Please Master" and "America" (with Emanuel Xavier), Howl Happening, NYC
2014 - SUPERM Body Painting (with Brian Kenny, Hugo Bo Chanel, Krishna Istha, Hermes Pittakos, Sanuye Shoteka and Torgeir Sagdahl). Presented by Fringe! Film & Arts Festival, Dalston Superstore, London
2013 - The New Modern Hair (with Silvia Prada), Pacific Design Center, LA; curated by Joakim Andreasson (catalog)
2012 - BRUCE(X)PLOITATION (with Bruce LaBruce, Kembra Pfahler, Gio Black Peter, Brian Kenny, and Carter Harrington), The Hole Gallery, NYC
2011 - 24 Days of Matter Printed, Printed Matter, Inc., NYC; curated by j. morrison
2010 - Vaginal Davis is Speaking From the Diaphragm (with Vaginal Davis), PS 122, NYC
2010 - The Happening of Blind Sculpture (with Gelitin), Greene Naftali Gallery, NYC
2009 - Manpurse IV: Assembly Line, organized by j. morrison (with Scott Hug, Michael Magnan, Dave Ortega, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Dave Ulrich, and Grant Worth), The NY Art Book Fair, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY
2009 - Pornography Project (with Michael Magnan), BUTT IN ASS, A.S.S. (Asia Song Society), curated by BUTT Magazine
2009 - Hygiene: A Piece of Instant Theater (with Brian Kenny), directed by Fedor Pavlov-Andreevich, produced by Maria Baibakova, Deitch Projects, NYC
2008 - Shaking Angles (with Andrey Bartenev and Brian Kenny), The National Arts Club, NYC
2003 - assume vivid astro focus VII (with assume vivid astro focus), Deitch Projects, NYC
2003 - Anarchist Wrestling (with Bruce LaBruce), The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2002 - The Ladder of Red (with Andrey Bartenev and Christopher Knowles), The Red Night: 9th Annual Watermill Benefit, Robert Wilson's Watermill Center, Long Island, NY
2002 - Mayakovsky Night, Mimi Ferzt Gallery, NYC
2001 - Kabul Olympics (with Sergey Bratkov), Passage Gallery, Moscow
Curatorial projects
2012 - HELL (SUPERM) envoy enterprises, NYC
2009 - Burning the Cadle at Both Ends, web gallery for Visual AIDS
2006 - SUPERM Salon, Sundown Salon series, Fritz Haeg's studio, LA
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