01 / Artist statement
Protvino — Paris
Artist
statement
Ivan Volkov is a multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, painting, graphics, land art, and performative actions.
His practice explores precarious social realities, everyday absurdity, migration, violence, and the fragile position of the individual under political and social pressure. Using raw materials such as wood, plaster, ceramics, snow, and found objects, Volkov combines dark humor, folk imagery, and a direct visual language to create works that are both intimate and socially charged.
Volkov is currently a resident at POUSH in Paris and co-founder of Emergency Space. In 2026, he contributed to La Merde, a project by Aline Bouvy for the Luxembourg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
02 / Selected works
Selected
works
Snow / 01—04
Snow sculptures
Creating snow sculptures is one of Volkov’s well-known practices. The artist works in both urban and natural environments, engaging in a dialogue with the viewer and with natural phenomena. The snow figures are produced for festivals, exhibitions, and film projects.
Land art / 01—05
Land art
Volkov engages with natural contexts and abandoned objects. He uses building ruins and other artifacts, transforming them into works of art and giving them new life. These projects contemplate the absurdity and consequences of globalization.
Installations
CHÂTEAU
FANTÔME
A fairytale white castle made of wooden boards, conceived as both a sculpture and a space for presenting graphic works. 2026, Drawing Now, with Misha Gudwin.
Sand sculptures / 01—03
Sand sculptures
A group of sand works including Pyramide, presented as part of Heavy Duty at Théâtre de Chaillot, Paris.
Heavy Duty / Théâtre de Chaillot, Paris
Sculpture / Wooden sculptures
Sculpture
In his sculptural practice, Volkov works with materials such as wood, plaster, sand, and ceramics.
Ceramics / 01—03
Ceramics
Ceramic, wood, and glaze works from 2025 and 2026.
Works on burnt wood
Carving & drawing
Carving and drawing on reclaimed wooden boards.
03 / About & education
Biography / ExhibitionsIvan
Volkov
Born in 1992 in Protvino, Moscow region.
Resident at POUSH in Paris and co-founder of Emergency Space.
Education
- Protvino Art School, 2010
- Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry, Department of Sculpture, 2017
- Institute of Contemporary Art (ICI), 2018
- École Supérieure d’Art et Design Le Havre-Rouen, 2025
Solo shows
2026
- CHÂTEAU FANTÔME — Galerie Joseph, Paris, France
2025
- À Moscou, je picolais, à Paris, je me suis “butté — Studio Albatros, Paris, France
2024
- Jokes everywhere — Feelium Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2023
- Cul — Microcredit, Noisy-le-Grand, France
- Vomir — Lgalerie, Paris, France
- Pourquoi la France est si gentille avec moi ? — Faux, Paris, France
2022
- Dog’s wedding — 11.12 GALLERY
Group shows
2026
- Venice Biennale, contribution to La Merde, project by Aline Bouvy, Luxembourg Pavilion, Venice, Italy
- Here be small monsters — Possibly sometime tomorrow, Paris, France
- CHÂTEAU FANTÔME — Galerie Joseph, Paris, France
- Confession — Emergency Space, POUSH, Paris, France
- Heavy Duty — Théâtre de Chaillot, Paris, France
2025
- Leshy — Emergency Space, Paris, France
- Best before — Emergency Space, Paris, France
- Marché de Noël — Wilde Gallery, Paris, France
- Un espace pas encore ouvert — Wilde Gallery, Paris, France
2024
- Article 11 — Galerie Julie Carreda, Paris, France
- Les caniches de l’apocalypse (with EliKuka) — Chez Sego, Paris, France
- Soup — Faux, Paris, France
- Sans drapeau — Yellow Cube Gallery × Dispar:d, Paris, France
- Summer Show — Serene Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2023
- Tendresse — Durev Galerie, Paris, France
- Tomato — Carbon17, Aubervilliers, France
- Tendresse — Liza Fetissova Gallery & Durev, Paris, France
- Vasy — Carbone 17, Aubervilliers, France
- Not Oil — 11.12 GALLERY
2022
- Between the Lines — Triumph Gallery
- Ketchup and Mayonnaise — 11.12 GALLERY & Kupol Gallery, Cube
2021—2017
- 2021 — Young Art, Bizon Gallery; A Couple Blocks from Here, Victoria Gallery; AU, Street Art Museum
- 2020 — The Final Project of the Residents of the 5th Season of Open Studios, CCA Winzavod
- 2019 — Visiting Death, Plaxall Gallery, New York, USA
- 2018 — Die Wahrheit, Saint-Petersburg ArtLoft, Berlin, Germany; What Worries You? and Synchronized Dates, Studio of Ilya Kabakov
- 2017 — Borders, Workshop of Ilya Kabakov
04 / Contact
Paris / 2026