Edition 76135 – Books from the HfG University of Arts and Design Karlsruhe

In the coming years Sochi will be the site of several largescale sports events: the city will host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and some matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Furthermore, Sochi is destined to be the site of the »Russian Grand Prix« Formula 1 races, starting in 2014. The artists Alina Schmuch and Franca Scholz have visited the city on the Black Sea coast by invitation of the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow. »Losk« is the result of their journey. The book presents everyday life and strange objects in the urban space. »Losk«—meaning glow or sheen in Russian—focuses on the surfaces of Russian society: floors, interiors, pavings, façades. The surfaces are inscribed with the fantasy of wealth and importance, but also with the persistent signs of poverty and the resonance of the Socialist past. Published on occasion of an exhibition by Alina Schmuch and Franca Scholz at Kunsthalle Baden-Baden.