Among the leading artists of post-Soviet Russia, Oleg Kulik has been producing edgy performances, sculptures, installations, and photographs since the mid-1990s. Through his art, he comments on Russia and the West, politics and power, and humankind's place in and relationship to nature. Kulik began his career as a sculptor and curator at Moscow's Regina Gallery, where he presented unconventional exhibitions. Describing his trajectory, he has said, "When I came to Moscow, I made glass sculptures—transparent figurative things—and nobody liked them. . . . Then I became a performer, created a huge scandal with my man-dog antics, got a show at Deitch Projects, and after that I felt the freedom to go on as an artist." In some of Kulik's most controversial performances, he transformed himself into a dog to reveal deeply troubling truths about human nature. (text (с) artsy.net)
