Erik Bulatov
Forward

Forward is a multi-part project conceived by Russian artist Eric Bulatov in 2015 and executed in 2016. It includes works part of Tate Modern's collection, including a group of nine large-scale paintings, twenty preparatory drawings and three scaled models. The paintings were made with a team of assistants under the artist’s supervision and based on his detailed drawings. The project was conceptualized following Bulatov's visit to a decommissioned foundry that was about to be converted into an exhibition space. He coined the word 'forward' to encapsulate the aspirations of his generation and its subsequent state of disillusionment with reality.Bulatov is known for his word paintings, which are a metaphor for the political and aesthetic conflicts that had greatly impacted him and his contemporaries. He began to include text in his works as three-dimensional forms in 1989, at a key stage in his own life and in the life of his country and of the entire Eastern Block. Erik Bulatov's two Forward paintings feature a combination of bold, flat colours and a Russian word for 'forward' to create a dynamic movement towards one's glorious future.

I took part of the project in the earliest stage of its conception. Erik Bulatov entered discussion with Andrei Molodkin to realize his first ever Sculpture. Bulatov visit at The Foundry in 2015 initiated this wish and he rapidly produced several sketches. The first step was to produce down-scaled models in cardboard and foam. As soon as the conception of the sculpture and the painting was clear, my role was to coordinate, organize and follow the production and the installation of the all the artworks.