Lee Jinju: Tilted
Tilted is a rare exhibition of a South Korean artist in Moscow, all the more special because she made this series of works especially for the exhibition at the Triumph Gallery. Her works can be defined as subjective realism or psycholandscapes, they are like painted streams of consciousness. In her works Jinju employs sketches of her memories, photographs of personal and found objects, as well as pure fantasy. At the same time, she adheres to some traditional Korean painting methods, using unbleached cotton, pigments and glue. The show runs until Oct. 6.
Triumph Gallery. 3/8 Ulitsa Ilyinka Street, Bldg. 5. Metro Ploshchad Revolyutsii. For more information, see the gallery website.
Ilya Repin and the Tolstoy Myth
The exhibition at the State Museum of Leo Tolstoy tells the story of a close friendship between the great writer and the equally famous artist, which lasted exactly thirty years, by deconstructing the myth of Tolstoy and explaining Repin’s part in its creation. Ilya Repin painted iconic portraits of Leo Tolstoy that forged the writer’s image for several generations. At the exhibition you can see rare paintings, sculptures and drawings by Repin that were not included in the recent retrospective at the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as mass-produced products from the early 20th century: boxes of sweets, tableware and even little bottles with cologne – all adorned with Repin’s images of Tolstoy. The show runs until Oct. 13.
11/8 Ulitsa Prechistenka. Metro Kropotkinskaya. For more information, see the museum website.
Ilmira Bolotyan: Immaterial Labor
Ilmira Bolotyan’s ten new works on display at MMOMA’s Gogolevsky Bulvar branch are the result of a two-year participatory performance. Bolotyan went to modelling school, to a stylist, to a beautician and documented everything she did. At the exhibition you can see paintings and sculptures dedicated to cosmetic medicine, video art, and a zine chronicling the difficulties of becoming a professional model at age 35. The show runs until Oct. 13.
10 Gogolevsky Bulvar. Metro Arbatskaya, Kropotkinskaya. For more information, see the museum website.
Oleg Navalny: With a prisoner’s respect and brotherly warmth
ART4 is exhibiting tattoo sketches made by Oleg Navalny, the younger brother of Russia’s most famous opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, while Oleg was serving 3.5 years in prison on a trumped-up charge. Navalny first became interested in tattoos while in prison, and together with his pen pal Pavel Akimov, he founded the TRAP project: Tattoos from RussiAn Prison. Requests for TRAP tattoo sketches came from all over the world. Navalny sketches are not, strictly speaking, traditional prison tattoos. At the exhibition there are series of sketches with titles like “Alice in Prison Wonderland” or “Russian Prison Surrealism.” The show runs until Oct. 19.
4 Khlynovsky Tupik. Metro Tverskaya, Arbatskaya. For more information, see the museum site.
Philip Colbert: Lobster Land
“Lobster Land” exhibition at the Multimedia Art Museum Moscow (MAMM) introduces the iconic British artist and designer Philip Colbert, sometimes dubbed “Andy Warhol’s godson,” for the first time in Russia. The main character in his works is “a lobster” — a figure in a blue suit decorated with fried eggs. Colbert’s works, inspired by pop-art, old masters and mass culture, have been bought by members of the British royal family, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West. Some of the works at the MAMM exhibition were specially made for the Moscow show. Sept.18 – Nov. 17.
16 Ulitsa Ostozehnka. Metro Kropotkinskaya. For more information, see the museum website.
Impressionism and Spanish Art
In October, the Museum of Russian Impressionism will exhibit 57 paintings, drawings and sculptures by Spanish artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibition is curated by a prominent Catalon art historian and writer Francesc Fontbona, and includes from fourteen Spanish museums, private collections and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. The artists on display include such prominent names as Joaquín Sorolla, Ramon Casas, Marian Pidelaserra and Ignasi Mallol. Oct. 10 – Jan. 26
15 Leningradsky Prospekt, Bldg. 11. Metro Belorusskaya. For more information, see the museum site.
Vasily Polenov
On the heels of the phenomenally successful Ilya Repin exhibition comes the retrospective of Vasily Polenov, a prominent Russian painter of the second half of the 19th – early 20th century. Polenov, a member of the “Wanderers” (Peredvizhniki) group of realist painters, is primarily known for his landscapes and the series of historical paintings depicting the life of Jesus Christ. The exhibition spans Polenov’s whole life and features over 150 works from sixteen Russian museums and private collections. On display will be his painting “Christ and the Sinner Woman” from the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Polenov sold it to Emperor Alexander III, which allowed him to buy his estate on the Oka river, now housing Polenovo Museum. Oct. 17 – Feb. 16
Tretyakov Gallery. 10 Lavrushinsky Pereulok. Metro Tretyakovskaya. See the museum website.
Union of Youth
The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center will present 80 works of such pioneers of the Russian avant-garde as Kazimir Malevich, Pavel Filonov, Mikhail Larionov, and Vladimir Tatlin, who founded the first artists’ association called Union of Youth. The Union became one of the leading institutions in Russian early 20th century art. The exhibitions the Union organized encompassed diverse styles, from symbolism to cubo-futurism. The works come from fifteen Russian and foreign museums, as well as three private collections. Oct. 24 -Jan.20.
11 Ulitsa Obraztsova, Bldg. 1A. Metro Mendeleyevskaya. For more information, see the museum site.
Russian Jordaens: Paintings and Drawings from Russian Collections
The Pushkin Museum is exhibiting 18 paintings and 31 drawings by one of the most revered old masters, Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens. The exhibition shows almost all of the works by Jordaens currently in Russia. They come from the Pushkin Museum’s collection, as well as from the Hermitage, three provincial museums (Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Perm) and the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. The exhibition will also talk about the roots of Russian collectors’ interest in Jordaens. Sept. 17–Nov. 30.
12 Ulitsa Volkonka. Metro Kropotkinskaya. For more information, see the museum site.
The Life and Adventures of Anatoly Zverev
The AZ Museum is launching an exhibition of 250 works by Anatoly Zverev from the private collection of Dmitry Apazidis, a close friend of the famous collector Georgi Kostaki. Apazidis (1918–1994) first worked at the Greek Embassy and then at the Swedish Embassy in Moscow. Kostaki introduced Apazidis to Zverev and the collector ended up amassing 1,500 works of the painter’s works made in 1950s and 60s. AZ Museum selected the most interesting ones: a series of landscapes, illustrations to the novels by Ilf and Petrov and portraits. Oct. 23 – March 22.
20-22 2nd Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. For more information, see the gallery site.
Alexander Serebryakov
Nashi Khudozhniki (aka Kournikova Gallery), a gallery that specializes in late 19th – early 20th century Russian art and, specifically, immigrant art, will hold a solo exhibition of Alexander Serebryakov, the son of the famous painter Zinaida Serebryakova. He was quite popular in France, and his works were also part of his mother’s large retrospective at the Tretyakov Gallery. Most of the paintings at Nashi Khudozhniki are from the family collection. Oct. 25 – Jan. 20.
2 Sechenovsky Pereulok. Metro Kropotkinskaya. For more information, see the gallery site.
