MOSCOW.- Russia's only international fair for contemporary art,
Cosmoscow, will bring together the country’s contemporary art scene and the international art community, showcasing artists previously unseen on the Russian market, alongside established and emerging artists from the region.
Led by the Fair’s Founding Director Margarita Pushkina and co-director Sandra Nedvetskaia, Cosmoscow will host 26 invited international galleries from New York, London and Continental Europe alongside galleries from Russia and the CIS, selected for their high quality programming and contemporary focus.
A programme of non-commercial projects will include a new commission from the Azeri not-for-profit organisation, YARAT, an exclusive look into private Russian collections in the exhibition Collector’s Eye, a new initiative for Russian artists launched by the V-A-C Foundation and Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, and complementary programming from the Garage Museum for Contemporary Art. At its vernissage, Cosmoscow will also host exclusive contemporary art auction, off white, to benefit The Naked Heart Foundation.
Cosmoscow has also partnered with Artsy, the leading online resource for learning about and collecting art. Starting from 11th September the dedicated site will host a preview of the fair, as well as to offer the creation of a personalized guide through the Artsy app for iPhone.
“What want to present some of Russia’s most promising talent alongside the established names we see in the West,” comment Margarita Pushkina, Founding Director, and Sandra Nedvetskaia, Co-Director. “Cosmoscow will create dialogue for both professional audiences and local cultural consumers and giving Moscow an annual event for contemporary practice and the art market.”
Exhibiting international galleries will include Michael Werner Gallery, New York, Javier Lopez, Madrid and Massimo De Carlo, Milan, Campoli Presti, London, with prices ranging from $2,000 to over $2 Million. Works from leading practitioners of our time will include Dan Colen (America, 1979), George Condo (America, 1957) and Yan Pei-Ming (China, 1960), as seen at Massimo De Carlo; and Alex Katz (1927) at Javier Lopez Gallery. Michael Werner Gallery, who represents and exhibits many of the most important artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries will show works from Georg Baselitz (Germay, 1938; The Abgar Head, 5.VIII.1984, illustrated left), Marcel Broodthaers (Belgium, 1924), and Sigmar Polke (Germany, 1941). Also presented at the Fair are young rising stars such as Daniel Lefcourt (New York, 1975) at Campoli Presti, Aljosha (Glukhov, 1974) at Beck & Eggeling.
Alongside these international heavyweights, Russian galleries will show some of the most existing work to be produced in the region. Regina Gallery, one of the first contemporary art galleries in Moscow founded in 1990 will show painter Semyon Faibisovich (Moscow, 1940) and Pavel Pepperstein (Moscow, 1966) who represented Russia at the Venice Biennale in 2009. XL Gallery established in 1993 exhibits works by ZIP group (Krasnodar, 2009) and Irina Korina (Moscow, 1977) – Innovation award winners of 2013 and 2008. Pechersky Gallery, which focuses on highlighting young talents, will show Kandinsky Prize nominee Roman Sakin (Kursk, 1976).
This year Cosmoscow introduces Discovery, a new section of the Fair, focusing on young artists, galleries and projects including A Palazzo Gallery, Brescia, and HLAM, Voronezh.
Cosmoscow Parallel Programme
The exhibition Collector’s Eye cordially supported by Guerlain will give visitors the unique opportunity to see works from an array of locally based collections led by renowned artist such as Christopher Wool (Boston, 1955; Untitled, 2005. A lot of the works exhibited are taken out of their private holdings for the first time. The exhibition is curated by collector and art historian Olga Vashchilina and gives an example of the taste and range of Russian collectors.
Not-for-profit organisations YARAT (Baku, Azerbaijan), DON Contemporary Art Foundation (Rostov-on-Don, Russia), Laboratoria Art & Science Space (Moscow, Russia) and XL Projects (Moscow, Russia) will present newly commissioned works. Yarat will show a solo booth from Baku based artist, Rashad Alakbarov. Titled, Cui Bono, the installation consists of ropes extending across the space to form a dense matrix. Lit from behind, the ropes form the message CUI BONO. A Latin phrase meaning ‘for whose benefit?’ Cui Bono represents a universal question about underlying motivations. Emerging Russian artist Albert Pogorelkin (1984), will be represented by DON Contemporary Art Foundation, with a series of paintings that hinting at the artistic impact of the West.
The first Russian non-profit Research Center, Laboratoria Art & Science Space, will showcase the work of the art group Where Dogs Run entitled 1,4… 19, 2014,formed in Yekaterinburg (Russia) in 2000. The collective have shown in numerous Russian and international festivals including the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2005, 2007, 2009, 2013). Fascinated by the use of technological intervention in everyday life, Where Dogs Run creates novelty gadgets to manufacture seemingly mundane and natural tasks. XL Projects will present an installation by Alexander Povzner (Moscow, 1976) and graffiti artist Kirill Kto (Zelenograd, 1984).
Off white is the title for the Naked Heart Foundation’s exclusive Contemporary art auction, that will present 20 lots donated directly by the galleries and artists including painter Rachel Howard (London, 1969; If This Sounds Like You (Brighter), 2013, Antonis Donef (Athens, 1978), Sergey Sapozhnikov (Rostov-on-don, 1984), Marko Mäetamm (Viljandi, 1965) and graduate Danila Tkachenko (Moscow, 1992). This unique project aims to challenge the stereotypes of Russia, the West, art, colour and the Other. The selection of artworks eludes cohesive conceptualisation and represents several post-Soviet pathways of very different artists now aged 25–38 framed by their more established international contemporaries.
Natalia Vodianova, Founder of The Naked Hearts Foundation added: “This is a very special event – it is our first auction dedicated exclusively to contemporary art. This is a unique opportunity for curators, collectors, gallery owners and art lovers to discover contemporary Russia within a truly international context. Participants will witness the dramatic cultural progress the country has seen in recent years – this is an opportunity to deconstruct common perceptions of today’s Russia, whose society is well on its way to becoming more open, inclusive and multifaceted.”
Cosmoscow will also be hosting the recently announced Collecting Young Russian Art 2014, V-A-C Muhka a new annual scheme in support of contemporary artists in Russia. The annual scheme designed to support the next generation of Russian artists and to open out their current practice to the wider world was launched by V-A-C Foundation and Muhka (Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp). The four finalists, nominated by the five Russian Curators and selected by Teresa Iarocci Mavica, Director of V-A-C Foundation, Bart De Baere, Director of Muhka will present their work at the fair. V-A-C will publicly announce the acquisition of a work, which will go into the Muhka Collection in Antwerp.
This year Cosmoscow partners with Swiss jewellery and watch brand Piaget, which marks its 140th anniversary this year. Supporting Cosmoscow is a typical decision of Piaget with its strategy of involvement in the arts – the brand participate in the Biennale des Antiquaires, Paris, and also supports HEAD (Haute Ecole d'art et de design), Geneva. Its collections, based on Salvador Dali drawings and inspired by works of Andy Warhol, further justifies the brand’s devotion to arts. Piaget products are not only marked by excellent craftsmanship, but also by creative approach to design. Piaget is honoured to present a special secret-lot at the exclusive contemporary art auction, off white, that will take place during the fair to benefit The Naked Heart Foundation, as founded by Natalia Vodianova. Guests of the fair will also be able to visit a Piaget booth that will be open September 19-21, and will showcase the brand’s watches and jewelry.
