Oleg Kulik — artist, sculptor and dog-man

Artist and performance artist Oleg Kulik is one of the brightest and most unusual representatives of Russian art. He is a regular participant of the world's most prestigious exhibitions and curator of many interesting projects. Kulik has a lot of followers as in Both in Russia and abroad. Among them, the art group "War", known for its extravagant performances.

Oleg Borisovich Kulik was born in 1961. He has been interested in art since childhood and graduated from art school as a teenager. But life arranged it so that Boris became a geologist. For many years he worked in various expeditions in the most inaccessible and harsh regions of the country — in Siberia and on Kamchatka.

In 1986 Kulik settled in Moscow and devoted himself entirely to art. The artist painted oil paintings and painted, but unusual compositions made of transparent plexiglass brought him fame. In 1988, Oleg Borisovich's first solo exhibition was held in Moscow.

On November 23, 1994, Kulik appeared in front of visitors in the image of a mad dog in the gallery of Marat Gelman. Almost completely undressed, the artist ran on all fours and grabbed the visitors of the exhibition by the legs. After that, he became known as the dog man and often used this image.

In 1995, he came to Zurich and, "reincarnated" as a dog, blocked the entrance to the exhibition "Signs and Wonders. Niko Pirosmani and Contemporary Art". In 1996, at the Interpol exhibition in Stockholm, he again rushes at the visitors of the opening day and even bites one on the leg. In response, the curator of the exhibition kicked Kulik, and the participants of the exposition condemned the actions of the Russian.

But it had the opposite effect. The little-known Moscow performance artist became known all over the world, and the prestigious Flash Art magazine even put his photo on the cover. In the same landmark 1996, Kulik for the first time receives an invitation to visit an exhibition in the form of a dog. It was the 1st Manifesto event in Rotterdam. There Kulik lived for several weeks in a booth at the entrance, and an assistant walked him on a leash.

The artist also tried to prove himself in politics. In 1995, he registered a Party of animals and declared his desire to run for president of Russia. He actively agitates voters in the markets of Moscow and in The Polytechnic Museum. We 've seen him on Tverskaya, in the center of the capital. There Kulik performed in front of passers—by in his favorite dog image - on a leash and in a muzzle.

In 1998, Oleg Kulik abandoned his favorite image. He justified his decision in an interview with the press:

In the early 2000s, Kulik finally leaves actionism and focuses on creating new works. To date, Kulik has already held more than 40 solo exhibitions in different cities of the world.

What Oleg Kulik is doing is very unusual, but even he is far from the actions carried out by the artist from Yugoslavia Marina Abramovich.