Everything is going according to plan, Russia's art market

[Евгений]

Interesting article by John Varoli 12/11/2008
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  The crisis seems to have not touched on the most influential players the art market - in St. Petersburg opened the first private museum, gallery "School" is expanding the business, and Maria Baibakov bets on young Russian artists

Just three months ago, the sky over Russia was cloudless, and if some people and he also talked about the rain, it was only about gold. In August of this "note" decade of default, and it seemed there were no signs repeat disaster. But, as so often happens, for no reason at all suddenly begins to go awry. Today the word "crisis" on the lips of everyone, and he, like the angel of death from the Book of Exodus, prowling the streets and punish certain bankruptcy, others - downsizing.

Past in the past six weeks, auctioneers Christie's and Sotheby's in London and New York, which sold the work of impressionists and modernists, and contemporary art, has shown that the art world is very vulnerable to a financial crisis. In Moscow, all no less lamentable. As told to me by a friend, dealing with corporate sponsorship of cultural activities, "the company reviewing all its plans and projects".

"Review", of course, could mean anything, and does not necessarily imply a complete rejection of the plans. As in any crisis, and now there are winners and losers. Of course, many rich Russians have lost considerable sums, but other troubled times, on the contrary, helped to earn, or whether they still have enough cash to ride out the storm. Here are some of the most important artistic initiatives and projects which, though not immune to the crisis, still plan to move forward.

 

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Gallery School »

In the past two and a half years gallery "School" became famous in Russia as the only seller masters of impressionism and modernism. Thanks largely to the efforts of gallery owners interested in Russian collectors for such works of art has grown considerably. Now the "School" intends to convey to the oligarchs and more contemporary art. "Since the spring we want to focus more intently on the international contemporary art and are looking for the larger area in the center of the city - said Rinaldini Vlasov, director of" School ". - We will sell Hirst, Warhol and Koons. In Moscow, that no one does. The time now is complex, but not all Russians bad with money - we see and those who still want to buy. Our customer base is changing, new people, whom we never knew of before, and they have the cash. We have a great time for shopping, because competition is low.

School will continue to work with Ezra Chovaiki from New York, which parted company with his business partner Any Mosionzhnik. In "Schools" have useful contacts with Russian collectors who want to buy, and at Chovaiki - with the Americans and Europeans who want to sell. "Russia, of course, the most important market for us, and this place with the greatest growth potential - assures Chovaiki. - There is no doubt that the art is flowing from West to East. Americans and Europeans are selling.

Stella Kesaeva

Despite the crisis, Stella Kesaeva, collector of Russian Contemporary Art and the wife of Russian billionaire Igor Kesaeva, said that it intends to implement its plans to open a museum of contemporary art in Moscow in the bus garage, built in 1920 by Konstantin Melnikov. Garage area of 11 thousand square meters is located near the Kazan station, but at the moment the building used by the municipal bus company.

Previously decided to open a museum in 2014, and initially there will be exhibited art from the collection Kesaeva (there are about six hundred works, mainly Russian postwar art.) The museum will be a joint public-private enterprise, and without him in the building will house the first Russia's Academy of Modern Art and the concert hall. "It's a shame that such a large and rich country like Russia, there is still no museum of its type or the Pompidou MoMA», - said Kesaeva.

St. Petersburg Museum of postwar Russian art

In St. Petersburg, another Ossetian family seized the leadership in the field of contemporary art, which in this city is no different animation. Aslan Czechoslovakia and his wife Irina said that it still plans to open its own museum of postwar Russian art at Basil Island. This will be the first private art museum in the northern capital. Czechoslovakia in recent years dealt with by buying at Sotheby's and MacDougall's, and now in his collection of about 130 works, including works Mikhnov-Voitenko, Tselkov, Steinberg, Schwartzman, Vasilyeva, Sitnikova, Kulik and Mamysheva-Monroe.

Museum Chekhoev takes an area of about 500 square meters on three floors in the building of the XIX century, located on a pedestrian street near the metro Vasileostrovskaya. Before reconstruction began, there were communal, preserved since the Soviet era. So the placement of collection of Russian non-conformism in such a space is appropriate.

Aurora Fine Art Investment

Aurora Fine Art Investment, Russian investment fund art, controlled Viktor Vekselberg, ended his long-awaited move to the Ritz Carlton hotel on Tverskaya Street. The most impressive exhibits of the collection - silver Faberge imperial snuffbox, delicate enamel - were exhibited at the Moscow Fine Art Fair in late May. But as it turned out, these specimens of the collection is very, very much. When I was a few weeks ago visited the Fund, dozens of works of decorative art were already in the window displays, I am also lucky enough to watch as a masterpiece Boris Grigoriev "Bretonka" and many other paintings fetched from packing crates.

In belonging to the "Aurora" exhibition hall area of 1000 square meters can be seen and the best examples of Russian art, and fine objects of decorative art. Officially, none of the exhibits are not for sale. Do you really want to buy something and you have the money. In this case, the representatives of the Aurora will be happy to talk to you.

Aurora uses a special marketing strategy to maximize profits. Instead of selling hundreds of works belonging to the fund individually, they are grouped into several collections, each of which is sold entirely for tens of millions of dollars. "The value will be greater if the items are stored together, as in aesthetic terms and in terms of their historical significance", - said Andrei Ruzhnikov, managing partner of the Fund.

Baibakov Art Projects

Initially, the scene of contemporary art in Russia run by the wife of the new Russian businessmen, opening galleries, foundations, and art centers. Now their grown children, whose ambitious plans could seriously change the world of art.

The newest art fund in Russia - the brainchild of Mary Dormousov - 23-year-old daughter of Oleg Baibakov, a former head of Norilsk Nickel and a close friend of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. December 12 starts Baibakov Art Projects, and the first fund will be an exhibition of young Russian artists in the chocolate factory "Red October". "The crisis really affect my plans, in the sense that I am very concerned about the context in which they perceive art - said Baibakov. - Run the exhibition space at a fragile time, requires courage, and I think that now, when there is a revaluation of values, modern art can attract even more visitors than usual.

Unlike many self-taught women who were pioneers in Russia's contemporary art scene over the last decade, Baibakov received art education and has professional experience in the field of art. She studied at Columbia University in New York and the Courtauld Institute (Courtauld Institute) in London and spent several years working in the auction houses and galleries, as well as a private consultant and curator. In June, she organized a group exhibition of Russian art in Paradise Row Gallery in London, where he exhibited, in particular, Ghosh Ostrecov. 6 November in Moscow Diehl Galerie One with Maria Cristina Shteynbreher opened Laughterlife 2 - group exhibition of artists from Russia and Central Asia. "At the stage of development still have a lot of projects that I am not currently ready to discuss - said Baibakov. - My long-term plans, and I intend to open the exhibition every two to three months.

Fresh news from the Garage »

In the past weeks, the media eagerly speculating on rumors that Roman Abramovich's empire has lost almost $ 20 billion, and the Center of Contemporary Culture "garage" under the leadership of Dasha Zhukova could be evicted the Federation of Jewish Communities. The last statement is only speculation, and as reported to me by the representatives of the center, "Garage" rushing ahead at full steam. "Garage" does not rent out space at the Russian-Jewish organizations - they are connected "operating agreement". However, Eric Bolton noted that in the future possible construction of a new building: "Our program develops as planned, in particular, this month planned to exit the project, and early next year - a major exhibition of works from the collection of Francois Pinault.

Of course, all the above projects have been initiated before the crisis loomed on the horizon. The true victims of the crisis will be dozens of potentially brilliant, or not particularly brilliant art projects, which will remain at the stage of conception. This can only mean that 2009 will not be as lively and eventful, as we had expected just a few months ago. But we, the survivors of the Nineties, there was nothing terrible.
http://www.openspace.ru/art_times/pr.../details/5854/

Translated from English Yana Tokareva