Aleksandr Brodsky and Ilya Utkin first achieved international recognition in the mid-1970s as members of a loosely organized group called “paper architects.” Graduating from Moscow’s prestigious Institute of Architecture in1978, the pair found themselves at odds with Breshnev’s doctrine of architectural utilitarianism. They found an outlet for their interests, which tended toward an eclectic assortment of styles and period, in international design competitions organized by architectural magazines in Japan, England, the United States, and other countries. The competitions stressed theory over functions, addressing programs like “A Glass Monument to the Year 2001” and “The Intelligent Market.”
The exhibition is drawn from the portfolio Projects 1981–1990, a gift of the Friends of List Art Center in memory of Patricia M. Morrissey.

image: Diomede II, 1989-90