Mikhail Margolis

After receiving his diploma in Moscow in 1991, Mikhail Margolis moved to the USA where he developed a strong interest in art, photography and computer sciences. Since moving to France in 2000 where he has continued to live, he studied animation and subsequently became involved in video art and interactive installations.

Mikhail Margolis retains from his studies of history at Soviet University a historical awareness and a taste for storytelling. Often inspired by Russian history, his work explores themes linked to contemporary society, depicts the deep relationship between humans and nature and questions form in the history of art.

In his work, he uses basic materials like paper, cardboard, tape, etc in an artisanal approach, combined with the most recent micro-technologies, from micro screens and computer to small electronic circuits. Both are so imbricated in the objet that they almost disappear, allowing the viewer to focus on the meaning of the artwork. The limits between the physical and the virtual elements of a piece are often blurred. In this way, Margolis establishes connections between the content of the artwork and the material used for its creation.

"Memo", an interactive installation through letters with animated stamps lyrically retraced the correspondence between a girl and her mother, deported to a gulag in Stalinist times, brought Margolis into public awareness. Among his recent artworks, influenced by the constructivist aesthetics, "Cycle of Vengeance" and "100 pieces of contemporary art", deride modernist self-referential abstract works. His video installation work "Towers", whose aesthetic was inspired most particularly by Russian Constructivism, demonstrates how time affects form while making reference to Tatlin’s Tower. It recalls the continuous phenomena of construction and deconstruction typical of human civilizations. Furthermore, "Roots", an interactive installation, illustrates the relationship between nature and human life from the point of view of a tree witnessing the passage of time.

His latests productions, such as "King Kong 2016" or "Center of the Universe", explore contemporary issues like loneliness, egocentrism and the idea of "fakeness" or artificiality via various forms and medias: interactive virtual reality installations, multimedia pieces, and a series of still-lifes made with coloured tape.

> Web site of the artist

Exhibitions

Past

Press

Press Release & Details

_ mikhail-margolis-gal...pdf ( PDF, 897.63 KB )

Teaser Here We Are, an exhibition by Mikhail Margolis

by Mikhail Margolis

2023

Exhibition Here We Are

by Mikhail Margolis


Exhibition View - Here We Are

by Mikhail Margolis

2023

Exhibition View - Here We Are

by Mikhail Margolis

2023

Exhibition View - Here We Are

by Mikhail Margolis

2023

Ameba

by Mikhail Margolis

2022

Russian Voodoo

by Mikhail Margolis

Cardboard, tin, screen, electronics, video, thread
Interactive work
5 + 1 AP
18 x 60 x 11 cm
2017

City sight

by Mikhail Margolis

Installation vidéo
Wood, Cardboard, Tin, LCD mini screens, Arduino, color tape
Unique piece
78x68x49 cm
2016

Center of the Universe

by Mikhail Margolis

Interactive installation
Cardboard, Vintage phone, Paperboard, pico projector, Rasberry computer, Star Registry
Unique piece
Variable dimensions
2016

Glory

by Mikhail Margolis

Virtual Reality installation
Paperboard mask, Virtual Reality goggles, Computer, Custom Software
Pièce unique
125x 101x101 cm
2016

Towers

by Mikhail Margolis

Video Work
Modified LCD panel, video, HD mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
32 x 24 x 10 cm
2015

Towers

by Mikhail Margolis

Video work
Modified LCD panel, video, HD mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
32 x 24 x 10 cm
2015

Towers

by Mikhail Margolis

Video work
Modified LCD panel, video, HD mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
32 x 24 x 10 cm
2015

100 Pieces of Contemporary Art

by Mikhail Margolis

Video Work
Modified LCD panel, video, mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
19 x 19 x 10 cm
2015

100 Pieces of Contemporary Art

by Mikhail Margolis

Modified LCD panel, video, mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
19 x 19 x 10 cm
2015

100 Pieces of Contemporary Art (detail)

by Mikhail Margolis

Video Work
Modified LCD panel, video, mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
19 x 19 x 10 cm
2015

Final Journey

by Mikhail Margolis

Interactive Video Work
LCD panel, raspberryPI, TouchSensor
5 copies + 1 AP
24 x 24 x 8 cm
2015

Cycle of Vengeance

by Mikhail Margolis

Video Work
Screen, video, mediaplayer, scotch
5 copies + 1 AP
15 x 15 x 5 cm
2015

Towers (detail)

by Mikhail Margolis

Video Work
Modified LCD panel, video, HD mediaplayer
5 copies + 1 AP
32 x 24 x 10 cm
2015

Cycle of Vengeance

by Mikhail Margolis

Video work
Screen, video, mediaplayer, scotch
5 copies + 1 AP
15 x 15 x 5 cm
2015

The root - interactive installation

by Mikhail Margolis

Video installation. Tree root, screens, filters
Unique piece
2012

The root - interactive installation

by Mikhail Margolis

Video installation. Tree root, screens, filters
Unique piece
2012

The root - detail

by Mikhail Margolis

Video installation.
Tree root, screens, filters
2012

The root

by Mikhail Margolis

Videos from the installation
2012

The root - interactive installation

by Mikhail Margolis

Interactive installation. Tree root, screens, filters
Unique piece
2012

Lost letters

by Mikhail Margolis

Video work
Aluminum envelope, screen, electronic
10 copies
10 x 20 cm
2014

The root - interactive installation

by Mikhail Margolis

Video installation. Tree root, screens, filters
Unique piece
2012

Memo

by Mikhail Margolis

Interactive installation


Wood desk, projector, DVD, sound
Unique piece
180 x 60 x 60 cm
2010

Memo detail

by Mikhail Margolis

2010

Memo

by Mikhail Margolis

Interactive installation
Wood desk, projector, DVD, sound
Unique piece
180 x 60 x 60 cm
2010

Lost letters

by Mikhail Margolis

5 visuals
Envelop, screen, batteries
10 copies each visual
50 x 30 cm
2010

King Kong 2016

by Mikhail Margolis

Interactive installation
Paperboard, tin, LCD screens, electronics, Ipods
83x9x52 cm
2016

Here We Are

by Mikhail Margolis

Video on square screen framed
Ed. unique
NFT
2023