After the cultural doldrums of summer in the Russian capital, the
fall season is starting off with a bang. Here are our top picks for the best
shows of contemporary art that you can catch early this fall in Moscow.
Moscow
Biennale 2017
The
biggest single event in the capital’s art world this fall is the 7th Moscow
International Biennale of Contemporary Art. Curated by Yuko Hasegawa,
Artistic Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, the Biennale’s main
project is called “Clouds ⇄ Forests” and will take
place at the New Tretyakov Gallery. Clouds⇄Forests juxtaposes the “Cloud Tribes” of artists raised
in the post-Internet world and the “Forest Tribes” whose work is based
on more traditional culture. Works of the Biennale participants — 52 artists
from 25 countries — will be displayed in a dialogue with the New Tretyakov
permanent collection. Olafur Eliasson, a Danish-Icelandic artist famous for
large-scale installations; Pierre Huyghe, French artist who works in a variety
of media from films and sculptures to public interventions and living systems;
and Björk, the Icelandic singer, actress and multimedia artist, will create new
works for the Biennale. Russian participants include Anastasia Potyomkina, Ilya
Fedotov-Fedorov and the creative association “Where Dogs Run.” In addition to
the main program, the parallel program promises to be particularly strong this
year. Among the highlights: Constantin Brâncuși’s retrospective at the
Multimedia Art Museum, which will include sculptures and drawings as well as
photographs and films from the Collection of the Centre Pompidou; and an
exhibition of works by contemporary American artist Daniel Arsham, famous for
his collaborations with the musician Pharrell Williams and choreographer Merce
Cunningham. He will present nine large scale sculptures built specifically for
the Karelia Pavillion at VDNKh. Events begin on September 19.
Various
venues. For more information, see the Biennale site.