The cycle Régions d’être spans the unwieldy geographical remit of Slavs and Tatars – between the former Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China – while also serving as a prequel to the collective’s practice. Régions d’être is the collective’s term for an area that falls between the cracks of history and general knowledge: largely Muslim but not the Middle East, largely Russian speaking but not Russia, and having a complex relationship with the nation. Yet rather than representing a specific value, history or culture, this ‘region of being’ is as much an imagined, poetic geography as it is a real, political and historical geopolitics.
Slavs and Tatars is a faction of polemics and intimacies devoted to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. The collective’s practice is based on three activities: exhibitions, books and lecture-performances. In addition to launching a residency and mentorship program for young professionals from their region, Slavs and Tatars opened Pickle Bar, a slavic aperitivo bar-cum-project space a few doors down from their studio in Berlin-Moabit, as well as an online merchandising store: MERCZbau.
Slavs and Tatars is represented by: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (NYC), Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler (Berlin), Raster Gallery (Warsaw) and The Third Line (Dubai).
Solo Exhibitions (selection)
Żarty Żartami (curated by Slavs and Tatars)
Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw
33rd Biennial of Graphic Arts (curated by Slavs and Tatars)
mglc, Ljubljana
Pickle Politics
Kulturhuset, Stockholm
Slavs and Tatars: Lecture-Performances 2009–2016
Villa Empain, Brussels
Concentrations 57: Slavs and Tatars
Dallas Museum of Art
Naughty Nasals
Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
Khhhhhhh
Moravian Gallery, Brno
Przyjaźń Narodów: Lahestan Nesfeh-Jahan
Gdańsk City Gallery
A Monobrow Manifesto
Neuer Aachener Kunstverein
Common Wealth
Ooga Booga, Los Angeles
A Thirteenth Month Against Time
Newman-Popiashvili Gallery, New York
Group Exhibitions (selection)
Eurasia
Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen
Survival Kit 10
Contemporary Art Festival, Riga
Faith Love Hope
Kunsthaus Graz
Holes in the Wall. Anachronic approaches to the here-and-now
Kunsthaus Exnergasse, Vienna
Cycle Festival
Gerðarsafn Kópavogur Art Museum, Reykjavík
32nd Biennial of Graphic Arts
mglc, Ljubljana
The Voice
Coreana Museum of Art, Seoul
Frans Masereel and Contemporary Art: Resistance in Images
mu.ZEE, Oostende
SONSBEEK’16: transACTION
Arnhem
Young Poland. Afterimages of Reality
Ludwig Múzeum, Budapest
Labor Relations
Wrocław Contemporary Museum
Metatextile: ruptured narratives, exchanged values
Edel Assanti Gallery, London
La memoria finalmente. Art in Poland 1989-2015
Palazzina dei Giardini, Galleria Civica of Modena
Magic and Power
Museum Marta Herford, Herford
Contour Biennial 7
Mechelen
Czysty język
Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
more Konzeption Conception now
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen
Rainbow in the Dark
SALT Galata, Istanbul
Into the Country
SALT Ulus, Ankara
Manifesta 10
St. Petersburg
Take Liberty!
National Museum, Oslo
Neighbours
Istanbul Modern
Pataphysics
Sean Kelly Gallery, New York
In the Heart of the Country
Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw
L’Ange de l’Histoire
Palais de Beaux Arts, Paris
Weird Science
Jack Hanley Gallery, New York
Un Nouveau Festival
Centre Pompidou, Paris
2nd Ural Industrial Biennial of contemporary art
Ekaterinburg
Traversing West Asia
Asia Pacific Triennial, Brisbane
Etat de Veille
Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris
Migrosophia
Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah
Scenarios about Europe III
GfZK, Leipzig
Station C
Konsthall C, Stockholm
Geopoetics
8th Mercosul Biennial, Porto Alegre
A Rock and a Hard Place
3rd Thessaloniki Biennale
Melanchotopia
Witte de With, Rotterdam
Salon5
ARGOS centre for art and media, Brussels
I Am What I Am
Gallery Nadežda Petrović, Čačak
Correct Me if I am Critical
Felleshuset, Nordic Embassies, Berlin
Frozen Moments
Ministry of Transport, Tbilisi
032c Workshop # 1
Baibakov Art Projects, Moscow
Habitat
Twenty First Gallery, New York
Miseducation
Brucennial, New York
The Past is a Foreign Country
Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu, Toruń
Industrial Light Magic
Goethe-Institut, New York
Hymns of No Resistance
Kaai Theatre, Brussels
Betlemi Mikro-Raioni
Laura Palmer Foundation, Tbilisi
Live Archive of ‘The Generational: Younger Than Jesus’
New Museum, New York
Place it
Lungomare Gallery, Bolzano
Shifting Identities
Kunsthaus Zürich
Pro eto
NCCA, Moscow Biennale of Young Artists
Forms of Inquiry
Casco, Utrecht; lux, Valence; IASPIS, Stockholm; BolteLang, Zürich; Archizoom EPFL, Lausanne
Ostersund
Färgfabriken, Stockholm
Left Pop
Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art
NY Art Book Fair
New York
10 Years
Colette, Paris
Publish and Be Damned
Casco Projects, Utrecht
Press (selection)
Factory Rules
by Hannah Jacobi, Canvas, March-April, 2020
Wokół barów (i śródkow nich)
by Michał Grzegorzek, Szum, February 21, 2020
The Best and Worst Art in Central Europe in 2019
by Adam Mazur et al, Szum, January, 2020
Burlesque Biennial
by Jesse Seegers, Pin-Up, November, 2019
Review: ‘Pickle Politics’
by Polina Lasenko, Contemporary Media Arts Journal, November, 2019
Review: ‘33rd Ljubljana Biennial’
by Franz Thalmair, Artforum, November, 2019
Pop Culture and Pickles: Inside the Berlin Studio of Slavs and Tatars
by Louise Benson, Elephant, October 25, 2019
33rd Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts and The Powerful Language of Satire
by Emily McDermott, Frieze, September 6, 2019
The Art of Satire: Slavs and Tatars Interviewed
by Osman Can Yerebakan, Bomb, September 6, 2019
The 33rd Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts
by Tom Jeffreys, Art Agenda, July 19, 2019
Crack Up - Crack Down, 33rd Ljubljana Biennial
by Carlos Kong, Flash Art, July 15, 2019
58th Venice Biennale: May You Live In Interesting Times
by Mohammad Salemy, Ocula, May 24, 2019
Interview: 'Wo sich Harvard und Moskau mischen’
by Behrang Samsami, Politik und Kultur, April 2019
The New Alphabet — Opening Days
by Nick Currie, Art Agenda, January 31, 2019
Critics’ Picks
Artforum, December 2018
Die Botschaft der Gurke
Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 9, 2018
Sinn und Sinnlichkeit
Hannoversche Allgemeine, November 2018
Interview with Slavs and Tatars
The Gradient, September 2018
Review of Made in Dschermany
Art Asia Pacific, September 2018
Review of Made in Dschermany
Spike Art Quarterly, August 2018
Slavs and Tatars ar/ge Kunst / Bolzano
Flash Art, 23 August 2018
Essay: ‘Reverse Joy’
Diaphanes, 10 April 2018
Interview
by Peter Backhof, DLF Radio, 31 January 2018
Conversation with Slavs and Tatars
by Ráhel Anna Molnár, exindex, 25 January 2018
Looking forward: Europe
by Slavs and Tatars, frieze, 10 January 2018
Usta Usta - Slavs and Tatars
by Anna Zakrzewska, TV Polonia , 2017
Aus Freude am Teilen
by Johannes Wendland, Handelsblatt, 12 November 2017
Interview
by Fanny Magyar, artportal, 8 November 2017
Threads Left Dangling, veiled in ink
by Max L. Feldman, Artforum, 24 October 2017
Doing the splits
frieze, 15 October 2017
Review: ‘Mouth to Mouth’ at CAC
by Maija Rudowska, Selections, 12 October 2017
Review: ‘Mouth to Mouth’ at SALT, Istanbul
by Naz Cuguoğlu, Asia Art Pacific, 105, 2017
Interview: ‘Relationships’
by John Clifford Burns, Kinfolk Vol. 24, June 2017
Review: ‘Slavs and Tatars, Usta Usta’
by Piotr Policht, Szum, No. 16, 2017
Metaphysical splits
by Adriana Bidlaru, Revista Arta, 26 March 2017
Odnalezione w Tłumaczeniu
by Piotr Kosiewski, Tygodnik Powszechny, 13 February 2017
Slavs and Tatars: Mouth to Mouth
by Tausif Noor, Art Radar, 11 January 2017
Tłumaczenie Światów
by B. Deptuła and P. Drabarczyk, Harper’s Bazaar Polska, January 2017
Slavs and Tatars
by Gregor Volk, Art in America, 29 December 2016
Review: ‘Afteur Pasteur’
by Owen Duffy, ArtReview, December 2016
Slavs and Tatars Afteur Pasteur
by Ann McCoy, The Brooklyn Rail, 1 November 2016
With Satire, Whimsy, and Fermented Milk
by Osman Can Yerebakan, Hyperallergic, 14 October 2016
Slavs and Tatars’ Mirror for Princes
by Anthony Hawley, The Brooklyn Rail, 6 April 2016
Review: ‘Towarszystwo Szubrawców’
by Bean Gilsdorf, Artforum, 14 June 2016
Naughty Nasals and Monobrow Manifestos
by Dina Akhmadeeva, Canvas, May/June 2016
Slavs and Tatars
by Ingrid Luquet-Gad, artpress 2, No 40, 2016
Men are from Murmansk, Women are from Vilnius
by Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle, 22 January 2016
Germany’s Leading Art Prize Sets a Museum in Motion
by Gretta Louw, Hyperallergic, 11 January 2016
Lost in Translation
by Thea Ballard, Modern Painters, 15 January 2016
Best of 2015
Hyperallergic, 17 December 2015
The lands time forgot
by Miriam Cosic, The Australian, 19 November 2015
Alphabet und Imperium
by Slavs and Tatars, frieze d/e, No 22, 2015
Preview: ‘Mirrors for Princes’
by Nicholas Forrest, BlouinArtInfo, 30 October 2015
Review: ‘Dschinn and Dschuice’
by Ana Ofak, Art Agenda, 9 November 2015
Review: ‘Mirrors for Princes’
by Kevin Jones, Flash Art, 9 November 2015
New Yarns
by Kirsty Bell, Tate Etc, issue 33, 2015
Wall to Wall
by Dina Akhmedeeva, Calvert Journal, 19 March 2015
Slavs and Tatars encourages art you’re allowed to sit on
by Nick Leech, The National, 26 February 2015
Review: ‘Language Arts’
by Kevin Jones, Art Asia Pacific, Nov/Dec 2014
Review: ‘Mirrors for Princes’
by Myriam Ben Salah, artpress, November 2014
Interview with Slavs and Tatars
by Anna Tolstova, Коммерсантъ, 27 June 2014
The New Manifestos
by Ian Wallace, artspace, 17 May 2014
Review: ‘Language Arts’
by Anna Seaman, The National, 1 April 2014
Interview with Slavs and Tatars
by Deena Chalabi, Issues, 2014
The languages of art, politics and melons
by Jim Quilty, The Daily Star, 28 March 2014
Slavs and Tatars, l’art des antipodes
by Roxana Azimi, Le Monde, 26 March 2014
Cтрана которой нет
by Sergey Guskov, Harper’s Bazaar Art, April 2014
A Conversation with Slavs and Tatars
by James Scarborough, Huffington Post, 11 March 2014
Syncretic Cartographies
by Stephanie Bailey, Yishu, Vol 13, Nº 1, 2014
On Aggregators
by David Joseilt, October, Nº 146, Fall, 2013
Tire Ta Langue
by Bernard Blistène, France Culture, 17 February 2013
Review: ‘Long Legged Linguistics’
by H.G. Masters, Art Asia Pacific, 2013
Peripheral Vision
by Kimberley Bradley, artsy.net, 2013
Q&A Art Space Pythagorion
by Gesine Borcherdt, artinfo.com, 2013
Panslawizm – tak!
by Adriana Prodeus, Newsweek, issue 27, 2013
Nie Chcemy Być Nowocześni
by Iwona Kurz, dwutygodnik.pl, issue 110, 2013
Lange Beine – bewegliche Zungen
by Samuel Herzog, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 27 August 2013
Children of Marx and Kumis
by Joel Regev and Masha Shtutman, colta.ru, 2013
Interview
by Franz Thalmair, l'Officiel Art, Nº 6., 2013
Review of ‘Beyonsense’
by Media Farzin, Bidoun, issue 28, 2013
Review of ‘Friendship of Nations: Polish Shi’ite Showbiz’, Critics’ Picks
by Steve Kado, Artforum, 2013
Reverse Optimism
by Fionn Meade, Modern Painters, March 2013
Slavs and Tatars
by Jesi Khadivi, Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia, Nov-Dec 2012
Print/Out: 20 Years in Print
(ed.) Christophe Chérix, MoMA, 2012
Caucasian Bazaar
by Iwo Zmyślony, dwutygodnik.pl, issue 40, 2012
For the Birds
by Kevin Kinsella, BombBlog, 5 November 2012
Beyond Nonsense: What Slavs and Tatars Make
by Anders Kreuger, Afterall, Fall 2012
Slavs and Tatars Bring Eurasian Transreason to MoMA
by Austin Considine, Art in America, 16 October 2012
Political He Says
by Jon Leon, Spike, no 33, Autumn 2012
Представители трещины
by Igor Gulin, Kommersant, 31 August 2012
Interview ‘Q&A’
Frieze, May 2012
Gauging the Power of the Print
by Ken Johnson, The New York Times, 16 February 2012
Five Plus One
by H.G. Masters, Asia Art Pacific, Almanac 2011, 2012
A Daring Eastern Publication
by Christopher Lord, The National, 21 December 2011
I decided not to save the world
by J.J. Charlesworth, TimeOut, 17 November 2011
Slavs and Tatars: Collective Eclecticism
by H.G. Masters, Asia Art Pacific, issue 75, 2011
Molla Nasreddin review
by Alexander Provan, Bidoun, issue 25, 2011
The Last of the Eurasianists
by Carson Chan, Kaleidoscope, issue 11, 2011
Molla Nasreddin review
by David Shariatmadari, The Guardian, 24 June 2011
Molla Nasreddin redux
by Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books, 2011
Müslüman, laik, demokrat devrimciler
by Nigar Hacizade, Radikal, 30 May 2011
The magazine that almost changed the world
by Elizabeth Minkel, The New Yorker, 26 May 2011
Der “Nebelspalter” der muslimischen Welt
by Daniel Morgenthaler, Basler Zeitung, 13 April 2011
Future Greats
by Adam Budak, Art Review, March 2011
Group Think
by Nicholas Cullinan, Artforum, February 2011
Interview with Slavs and Tatars
by Federica Bueti, artslant.com, August 2010
Short takes: Kidnapping Mountains
Bidoun, issue 20, 2010
Visionaire No. 57
Visionaire No. 57, 2010
Kidnapping Mountains
by Jasmine De Bruycker, Klara.be, 13 May 2009
The Expatriate
by Shaun Walker, Fantastic Man, issue 9, 2009
I Often Dream of Slavs
by Negar Azimi, Bidoun, issue 16, 2009
Novi Moskvich
by Anna Dyulgerova, Harper’s Bazaar, September 2008
Rebuilding the Pantheon
by Ingrid Chu, Fillip, issue 8, 2008
Wall to Wall
by Alison Cool, Style.com, 8 April 2008
Art between Covers
by Holland Cotter, New York Times, 29 September 2007