Yuri Avvakumov

Yuri Avvakumov is an architect, artist, and curator. He graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARCHI) in 1981 and has contributed to architectural and art exhibitions since 1982. In 1984, Avvakumov coined the term “paper architecture” to signify a genre of conceptual architectural design in the USSR in the 1980s. He has curated many shows dedicated to paper architecture in Russia and abroad, including exhibitions in Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Ljubljana, Milan, Moscow, Paris, and Frankfurt. In 1996, Avvakumov represented the Russian Pavilion at the 6th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, where he displayed the installation Russian Utopia: A Depositary. In 2008, he curated the exhibition/installation RodDom in the Church of San Stae (Venice). He currently concentrates on museum exhibition design. Avvakumov’s works are in the collections of Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), Museum of Modern Art (New York), National Museum of Modern Art—Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), German Architecture Museum (Frankfurt), and many others. He lives and works in Moscow.