Ilya Kabakov Russian (1933-2023) Windows, 1973

Ilya Kabakov (1933–2023)

Windows, 1973

Ink, watercolor and pencil on paper

24 x 31.5 cm (9 ½ x 12 3/8 in.)

Signed and dated lower right in Cyrillic: И. Кабаков 73 г.

A rare early original drawing by Ilya Kabakov, created in 1973, during the formative years of Moscow Conceptualism and the Soviet nonconformist movement. This work belongs to the important Windows / Окна series, where the window becomes a metaphor for confinement, perception, and the divide between private and public life in the USSR.

Minimal yet psychologically charged, the composition reflects Kabakov’s emerging conceptual language, transforming an ordinary architectural motif into a space of absence, tension, and quiet narrative.

Works on paper from Kabakov’s early 1970s period are especially sought after for their direct connection to the birth of his mature practice.

Kabakov later became the leading figure of Moscow Conceptualism and one of the most influential artists to emerge from Soviet unofficial art.

Provenance: Alexander Glezer Collection.

Condition: Very good condition. Framed, under glass