Komar & Melamid

(Moscow, Russia, 1943 & 1945 - )

American, born Russia

Working as a single artistic entity, Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid came to the United States in 1978 as Russian emigres. Most often referred to as conceptual artists, the Russian dissidents found the freedoms of the United States well suited to their needs for expressive artistic freedom, something the Russian government talked, but did not walk. Probably considered their most definitive artistic effort is the traveling exhibition titled "The People's Choice," which includes works that the team created after conducting surveys of several countries' peoples asking them what they, as a nation, would like to see in a painting depicting their country, and what they would not like to see. The results were pairs of dichotomy, paintings addressing and responding to the requests and denials. Some of the countries include the United States, China, Germany, Finland, and Russia, to name a few. The team disbanded in 2003.

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