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Last Thursday saw the opening of the most important exhibition of international contemporary art ever staged in Moscow, taking over most of the 8,500 square metres of Dasha Zhukova's art gallery, The Garage (GCCC Moscow). 'A Certain State of the World?' presents a selection of works from François Pinault's private art collection including works by Jeff Koons and Francesco Vezzoli who were at the opening. Determined not to let the recession dampen the opening, Zhukova (pictured below with Pinault), girlfriend of the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, said: "The Moscow public needs, in a way, an introduction to contemporary art and doing a group show like this is a great stepping stone to that," she said. "The Garage will go on."

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'Natural Wonders: New Art from London', curated by Nick Hackworth, director of the London gallery Paradise Row, features over 20 London-based artists including Tim Braden (below), Shezad Dawood, Idris Khan, Eloise Fornieles, Conrad Shawcross and Douglas White. The show attempts to capture the energy, vitality and diversity of the London art scene and to identify some of the different trends in thought and cultural production.

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The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow is presenting its first offsite project with a giant video installation on the top of the Mosenergo building opposite the Kremlin. 'Moscow on the Move' showcases works by leading Russian and international artists 24 hours a day including AES+F, Artavazd Peleshan, Doug Aitken, Fischli & Weiss, Douglas Gordon, Pipilotti Rist and Cao Fei. Dasha Zhukova, Founder of GCCC, launched the project with the busy people of Moscow in mind: 'Many of them may love contemporary art, but they may not have the time to go out to a museum. Everyone is always in a rush, so I thought this would be a nice way for people on their way to work to get a glimpse of these beautiful works.'

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It was clear that the Moscow openings of the Garage and the Gagosian exhibition at the Red October Chocolate Factory were going to make for a few days that would be heady, even by the credit crunch-defying standards of the Upper Art World. The Garage, a Contemporary art space funded by Dasha Zhukova, the significant other of Roman Abramovich, and Larry Gagosian (below) had their opening dinners on consecutive evenings. And this attracted a pool of art world movers - from museum folk like Robert Storr, Gary Tinterow and Nicholas Serota to artists like Takashi Murakami.

Continue reading "ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST'S MOSCOW DIARY" »

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Gagosian Gallery is hosting its second major exhibition in Moscow this autumn at a 19th-century former chocolate factory called Red October, a powerfully suggestive and highly atmospheric architectural landmark named in the spirit of the Bolshevik Revolution. The exhibition, entitled 'for what you are about to receive', contrasts ways in which contemporary artists continue to investigate the twin pillars of 20th century art, the readymade and pure abstraction, reflecting on the sublime through a self-conscious engagement with material and process.

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Anthony Haden-Guest visits Moscow's version of New York's Chelsea, home to the city's biggest photo studio, Eleven, various art and design-related enterprises and such crucial contemporary art galleries as M&J Guelman Gallery, the Aidan Gallery, XL and the youngest, Proun. It also provides studio space for eleven artists, including Alexey Kalima, an ethnic Russian who bills himself a 'Chechen artist'. In 2005 he won Russia's first state-sponsored prize for visual art with 'Chelsea vs. Terek', an installation in which bearded Chechens in Adidas (below) clobbered London's Premiership football club, Chelsea, which is owned by the oligarch, Roman Abramovich.

Continue reading "ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST REPORTS FROM MOSCOW'S ART DISTRICT, WINZAVOD" »

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One of Britain's finest chroniclers of daily life, Martin Maloney is having his first solo show at the Russian outpost of the New York gallery, Gary Tatintsian. The exhibition presents 25 portraits by Maloney, which critics have described as being like children's drawings. Taking this as a compliment, Maloney's riposte is: "They mean to say by this: 'We are fascinated with your ability to infuse with life the most complex color combinations, which are more suited to abstract painting... We are delighted with your spontaneity and we are grateful to you for sharing with us your irrepressible enjoyment...' "

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'Shimon Okshteyn: Dialogue with Objects' brings together work produced by the New York-based artist over the past 25 years since his emigration from the former Soviet Union. It includes a range of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and a selection of newer pieces that are among Okshteyn's most ambitious to date. This exhibition is not an attempt to construct a historical narrative but rather an introduction to Okshteyn's work aimed at a general audience and a new generation of Russians who grew up in the post-perestroika era.

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