As the wife of billionaire became commissioner of Modern Art

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Like there was this interview here, though not the first freshness (11/14/2012), but I hope someone will be useful and interesting

[QUOTE] Stella Kesayeva established a fund Stella Art, when the Russian market of contemporary art did not exist yet, but it works now, when the market is dead

Fund Stella Art \\u2028 Foundation, promoter of modern art, spend the money, the person who is the art does not like. But billionaire Igor Kesaev (N53 rating of Forbes, 2012) could not refuse his wife, Stella, when in 2002 she set about trying to bring the exhibition in Moscow of the world stars of Pop Art - Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Tom Wesselmann. «he thought, well, let it Indulge a little, entertain, but he never thought that I'll go so far» , - laughingly tells Stella. Over the past 10 years, the Russian contemporary art market went through three phases: a modest cash-strapped early 2000s, rapid and short peak in the middle and the current post-crisis collapse. On the activities of the Foundation Stella Art, which became one of the most influential organizations in the Russian art space, these jumps almost no effect.

To Russia with Love

All 1990 Stella Kesayeva lived abroad, where he surprised himself imbued with love itself to contemporary art. «In 1991, in New York, came on a visit to a very wealthy and influential man, and the first thing I saw in his penthouse - a self-portrait of Picasso. I was in shock, I loved », - she says Forbes. [SPOILER] Kesayeva says that she decided to educate himself: went to museums, numerous galleries and auctions of contemporary art, trying to make it on their own opinions. In 2000, Stella returned to Russia, and found that in this area there is no nothing.

In the early 2000s, modern art gallery in Moscow can be counted on the fingers of one hand well if not one hand. «The market was not very long, and the galleries began to open in spite of the situation, it was just a private initiative, enthusiasm, not with money. Basically we had to form the gallery, in 2005 », - says Aidan Salakhova, opened the gallery" Aidan "in 1992. About arrived there was no question - a pipe dream galleries was out "zero", she adds. «It was in the basement of some kind, all unpresentable, I think, that's horror, let me in Russia do something interesting», - recalls Kesayeva. Understanding exactly what it is and what should be engaged in the first phase was not. But in the end, in its first incarnation was called Stella Art Gallery, Stella Kesayeva was "Stella Kay," and its first project was the organization of exhibitions in Moscow, the very icons of pop art.

The fact that in the global art market, nobody knew Kesaevu stopped. «If I start something, I do it till the end». to negotiate with the owners of artists joined gallerist Edward Mitterrand, nephew of the former president of France, which was familiar to Kesayeva Geneva. And of course, critical to have the money her husband of Stella, co-owner of "Mercury", the largest tobacco distributor Russia (№ 3 in the list of the largest private companies in 2012). Igor Kesaev posted a gallery in a guarded mansion in the center of Moscow, pay freight and insurance, as well as the owner of the paintings offered as security deposit in the amount of $ 15 million in debt to convince her husband did not have to, says Stella. «We did not pay the money, just as if they were frozen if something would happen, but nothing would happen, and I did not steal was going." timed to the opening of Stella Art Gallery exhibition "From pop art to Transavantgarde" unprecedented then struck Moscow on Moscow's presentation of modern art glamorous sheen, gorgeous catalog, the level and composition of visitors, many of whom were friends and acquaintances of the family Kesayeva, previously at such events not seen. On most media Stella replied rather sarcastically: another businessman's wife decided to open a gallery, quickly get bored or she, or her husband. "Take me as his wife nouveau riche, who have nowhere to put the money." In turn, the friends of the family did not appreciate pop art. «Many said that for spotting, but we ourselves can draw is that the art you stupid?» - laughing Kesayeva.

Perhaps, therefore, trade expensive Western art in Moscow did not go. Those rich people who were interested could apply directly to the international gallery, and do Western art dealers come here. Stella said that her trade has never been particularly interested in, the more so in contrast to the professional art dealers need to make a profit from it was not. After the bombastic presentation in Moscow, western stars it with her characteristic bluntness decided to pursue a vigorous Russian stars. «I started to think about who is the best of our artists? Began to dig literature, talking to people and realized it was Ilya Kabakov », - she says.
Conceptualists

During a short and sharp rise in prices for contemporary Russian art in the years 2005-2008 the most expensive living artists was precisely Kabakov (the "Beetle" established in 2008 auction record of $ 5.8 million). One of the founders of the "Moscow Conceptualism," Kabakov left the country in 1998, deciding that forever. By the beginning of the 2000s, the market value of some of his works have hundreds of thousands of dollars, but he was widely known for his rather "total installation," and emphasized the radical non-profit work. Kesayeva says that these are the work and interested her most. «I'm not chasing beauty. Normally, though, look to shiny, and I was not attracted to this art, I'm interested in philosophy, work on which you might think ».

Kesayeva threw a "return" to their homeland Kabakov, organizing his large exhibition in Moscow. But it turned out that it is hampered by several factors. First, refused to exhibit the work of Kabakov museums such as the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin, who consider them as "unformatted". Secondly, Moscow does not want to go himself Kabakov and his wife, co-writer and producer Emily. "I categorically refused. They said that everything that comes to Moscow, and then compared with the ground, that Solzhenitsyn returned, and who is he back? "- Recalls Kesayeva. But after months of negotiations, she managed to find the builder of choice. In 2004 Kabakov exhibition held Hermitage and New York, the Guggenheim Museum (against those names Kabakov could not resist), it was held in St. Petersburg. The name Stella Art, co-organizer and sponsor of the exhibition, all the posters to stand next to these big names, and this was the first time when Igor Kesaev imbued with respect to what the wife says Stella. «Then again, when I was in Austria, has made the exhibition, the Wall Street Journal published a huge article with my photo. And there are all about business and politics. He was very surprised: if they write, so it's cool », - she said.

With Kabakov enthusiastic Kesaevoy conceptual art, which remains her main love ever since. But her new hobbies, such as Andrew Monastery, Vadim Zakharov, and other representatives of this trend, in contrast to Kabakov, had expressed commercial prospects. So began the divergence with the market Stella Art: Gallery promoted the work of fashionable and commercially successful authors, the price of which in 2005 began to grow wildly and Kesayeva farther immersed in the "ugly philosophy." In 2007, when the Russian contemporary art market was close to its peak, Stella Art altogether announced its closure as a gallery and on conversion to a nonprofit foundation.

«I realized it was not mine, that I could not sell anything. I think it is stupid to convince people of something, each person decides what he wants to buy », - said Kesayeva.

crisis

«Good, we had only three years: in the years gallery for the first time the existence ceased to go into negative and we even got some profit» , - says Aidan Salakhova about the rise of the Russian market in 2005 - 2008. Prices for such fashionable artists as Oleg Kulik, Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinogradov, Valery Koshlyakov, for a matter of months flew by several times. Contemporary Russian art started to sell at auction for millions of dollars: this was not, either before or after the brief flash, all the records in the modern authors have been established in that period.

But in 2008 the rise was replaced by an equally sharp decline: the market subsided "new" customers attracted sometimes tenfold increase in prices for contemporary artists, and even the biggest collectors significantly reduced purchase. «I have before the crisis were conditionally extra money, I would buy up to 200 jobs a year. Now earnings remain, but they are necessary to my family, I have no desire to spend on art », - says a major collector of contemporary art, founder of the museum Art4.Ru Igor Markin. Gallery owners a while brave and tried to hide the scale of the disaster, hoping for a quick end to the crisis and investing in the business personal money. But this year, their patience was over in spring 2012 announced the closure of the oldest and largest modern art gallery - Gallery of Marat Gelman, "Aidan" and XL (the latter is true, then continued to work in another capacity). The market is so bad?

"Market? Write that in response she laughed, "- says Salakhov. According to her, in 2011, the gallery "Aidan" sold only 82 of approximately $ 660,000, a profit of about $ 60,000. This is at least three times worse than the pre-crisis level. «The market's not the case, we formed it, inspiring environment for the purchase of contemporary art. But this trend is not, all my friends, acquaintances Gelman, Ovcharenko bought it, a collection filled, and all », - says Salakhov. Gallery owner Pop /off /art Sergei Popov set not so pessimistic as his colleagues, but he admits that things are not the best way. «The situation in the last four years, rather negative, and this is due to the fact that our small, fairly close and complicated contemporary art market naturally responds to a crisis».

Commissioner

What Stella Art? According Kesaevoy, it continues to buy art in the same volumes as before the crisis. «I previously never left his mind, that I'm a collector, that run and bought everything, but if I see that there is good work at auction or something, I buy », - she says. Now the collection of Stella Art 1,500 works, according to market participants, it is one of the largest collections of contemporary art in Russia. In it, there are works by such famous western authors, like Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Richard Prince, and the works of Russian, including young artists. The annual budget of the Stella Art - a few million dollars, the amount can vary depending on the exhibitions.

Perhaps that is why in 2010, the Ministry of Culture of Russia Kesaevu Commissioner appointed for the period of the Russian pavilion in Venice Biennale in 2011, 2013 and 2015. More than half of all Russian spending last Biennale Kesayeva paid from the budget of Stella Art. The Foundation continues to organize exhibitions of Russian artists in Russia and abroad, which on average takes place every two months. Stella Art, as the art center "Garage" Dasha Zhukova or infrequent buyers today-collectors like Igor Tsukanov remain the islands, where life is still warm.

The situation could fix government procurement of modern art, which are now virtually non-existent, say market participants. In Russia, there is not even the State Museum of Contemporary Art. On the possibility of the museum Stella Art newspapers before the crisis, but the project has podvis. Kesayeva said that the need for this budget (about $ 100 million), it will not pull even. «If the government gave me money and said, Stella, we know what you have in life is normal, we trust you, but we need to do something decent, I would have said, no problem, I myself have invested and there I will give collection », - she says. According Kesaevoy, the museum project she discussed with many officials, but more general words did not get.

Despite the crisis, Stella Art Foundation is not going to fold or exhibition activities, or the purchase of new works. «I am all the time to complete his collection, I like it, and I know that my kids will be very happy to inherit these works. In 30 years they will surely go down in history », - she says.