Lenin and Coca Cola

Alexander Kosolapov (b. 1943, Moscow, Russia) is an American-Russian artist known for his sculptures and paintings which conflate symbols of American consumerism with those from the Soviet Union and Russian Orthodox Church. As in his 1982 painting Lenin and Coca-Cola, in which Kosolapov juxtaposed a portrait of Vladimir Lenin alongside the iconic Coca-Cola slogan. “I was always drawn to social and informational products. I like posters, advertisements, comics, political slogans,” he has said. “I use the shared language of modern mass culture, addressed to an anonymous viewer.” Born on January 1, 1943, Moscow, Russia, Kosolapov attended the Stroganov Art School in his hometown alongside fellow student Leonid Sokov. In 1975, the artist emigrated to the United States where he helped gather materials for the underground Soviet art magazine A-YA and was introduced to the works of Andy Warhol. Kosolapov currently lives and works in New York, NY. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, among others. Selected public collections: Museum Moderner Kunst, Wien, Austria New York Public Library, New York, US Albertina, Wien, Austria Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, US National Jewish Museum, Philadelphia, US Museum of Art, The Duke University, North Caroline, US Art Museum University of South Florida, US Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia Museum Of Modern Art, MOMA, New York, US The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, US Kupferstift Kabinett, Berlin, Germany The State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia