Boris Orlov: Cercle of Heroes

Boris Orlov (born in 1941 in Moscow) is a classic representative of Sots-Art. Sots-Art is a style that evolved during the early 1970’s in the Soviet Union. In contrast to American Pop-Art it focuses not on cliches of contemporary life and consumerism but on political symbols that were part of every-day life under the Socialist system during the reigns of Stalin and Brezhnev.

Orlov is particularly interested in the myth of the hero. The concept of a hero, i.e. a person with exceptional abilities or attributes that enable him to perform unusual or outstanding feats, is derived from classical antiquity. The Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities is the venue for a fascinating confrontation of classical depictions of heroes and the contemporary Russian interpretation of this motif.

With the exhibition „Boris Orlov: Cercle of Heroes“ the Stella Art Foundation continues its collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Musuem begun in 2008.