John Varoli has sent a precis of his Russian-related articles in the November Art Newspaper; not all available online; see below the cut. I was interested in this about the Melnikov Garage:
"The relationship is very straightforward,'' said Erica Bolton, GCCC spokesperson. "The Museum of Tolerance will be housed on the 1st floor and GCCC will be on the ground floor. So they will not interfere with each other.''
From John Varoli [abridged]:
Since not everyone gets the printed version of The Art Newspaper (TAN), and since the web site only carries a limited number of articles, I will send out my full list of stories for this monthly newspaper... Below are stories that appear in TAN's November issue. Copyrights belong to TAN...
1) Airplane Named in Honor of Timur Novikov
On September 24, Russia's S7 Airlines christened an Airbus A319 to honor St. Petersburg's leading postwar artist, Timur Novikov, on what would have been his 50th birthday. The plane, which now flies between Moscow and St. Petersburg, bears the words, "Artist Timur Novikov,'' on its fuselage.
Novikov is best-known for creating the New Academy of Fine Art movement in 1989, which urged the preservation of classical traditions in modern art. He contracted AIDS while living in New York in the early 1990s, and died in St. Petersburg in May 2002 at the age of 43.
"Passengers will feel they're actually inside a work of art by Novikov,'' S7 Airlines said in a statement. The company said such a project is part of its larger plans to boost business by developing art tourism as a travel destination both domestically and internationally.
Also on Sept. 24 the State Hermitage Museum opened its first-ever Novikov exhibition, featuring 25 works by the artists from American, European and Russian collections.
2) Dasha Zhukova's Garage Denies Conflict with Jewish Community
Shortly after Dasha Zhukova and billionaire Roman Abramovich opened the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture (GCCC) in Moscow in mid September, Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities announced the opening a Museum of Tolerance in the very same building. Garage is the former Bakhmetevsky Bus Depot, a listed 1925 modernist building built by Konstantin Melnikov. It has 8,500-square-meters of space.
The announcement created some confusion in the art community, and rumours began to fly doubting GCCC's future. The Federation unites Orthodox Jewish communities, mostly Chabad Hasidic, and already owns and operates a community centre on the territory of the Garage complex. Abramovich, who is GCCC's main sponsor, heads the Federation's board of trustees.
GCCC told The Art Newspaper (TAN) that it will coexist with the Federation in the Melnikov garage.
"The relationship is very straightforward,'' said Erica Bolton, GCCC spokesperson. ``The Museum of Tolerance will be housed on the 1st floor and GCCC will be on the ground floor. So they will not interfere with each other.''
In related news, Ms Zhukova told TAN that rumours of GCCC involvement in commercial sales is not true. "Absolutely no selling of art at all!'' said Zhukova.
Financial problems, however, could possibly impact GCCC. According to Bloomberg News, Abramovich "lost $20 billion based on assets'' as a results of the global financial crisis that has seen the Russian stock exchange fall in total value by about 60%, the greatest decrease of any country.
3) New Director for Tsarskoe Selo Museum
On Sept. 30, Russia's Culture Ministry chose Olga Taratynova to head the Tsarskoe Selo Estate Museum, one of Russia's leading museums, with about 200,000 items in its collection. Taratynova immediately resigned her post as deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg City Committee for the Protection of Cultural Sites (KGIOP), where she worked since 1996. She replaces recently-deceased Tsarskoe Selo director, Ivan Sautov, her husband. He died of a heart attack on August 1 in Finland. Taratynova is currently forming her staff and has declined comment.
The estate originally was the summer residence of the czars and czarinas, and the sumptuous 18th century Catherine Palace, home to the Amber Room, is its main attraction. It's located in the town of Pushkin (known before 1917 as Tsarskoe Selo, or Tsar's Village), about 25 kilometers south of St. Petersburg
Taratynova's appointment surprised many. Local media predicted Viktor Lobko, a career Communist Party official and the current chief of staff for St Petersburg governor, Valentina Matvienko, would take over Tsarskoe Selo. The city's intelligentsia, which admired Sautov and supported his wife as the new director, lobbied the Culture Ministry in Moscow to prevent this.
In 2010 Tsarskoe Selo will mark its tercentennial, and both the federal government and the city plan to invest heavily in the palace and the town of Pushkin.
4) Russia's Most Ancient Icon Restored
The State Art Restoration Research Institute in Moscow concluded a six-year restoration of Russia's most ancient icon, the 11th century icon of St Peter and St. Paul, which hales from the State Novgorod Museum in the city of Veliky Novgorod, a city of about 200,000 people located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The icon will return to the museum by the end of the year.
A Byzantine monk living in Russia is believed to have painted the 2.5-meter by 1.5 meter icon. Russia converted to Christian Orthodoxy at the end of the 10th century under the influence of the Byzantine Empire with which it had long been trading and warring. The Nazis looted the icon during their occupation of Veliky Novgorod in World War II. The icon was discovered in a Berlin storage center in 1945.
From the 9th century to the 16th century Veliky Novgorod was among the most advanced and powerful political entities in Eastern Europe with a vast empire that covered most of northern Russia. Ivan the Terrible ended its existence as an independent political entity when he sacked the city in 1570 and killed or enslaved most of the inhabitants.
5) MMoMA Challenges Allegations of Fake Chagall Works
The Moscow Museum of Modern Art told TAN that it disputes claims by the Paris-based Marc Chagall Committee that three of its Chagall paintings are not genuine. Vasily Tseretelli, MMoMA's director, said he feels someone has misled the Chagall Committee, and insisted his museum is ready to conduct all necessary expert evaluations to prove the authenticity of the three paintings.
In mid September the Chagall Committee informed Tokyo's Bunkamura Museum of Art that Chagall's Portrait Of A Woman(1908), Family (1911-1912), and Violinist (1917) on loan from MMoMA were not genuine. The paintings were excluded from the next leg of the tour at the Suntory Museum in Osaka.
The three works are part of an exhibition of 70 paintings titled, "The Spring of the Russian Avant-garde.'' Tseretelli said the show is enjoying enormous success and he feels that has aroused some jealousy among the museum's detractors.
"These three paintings have been exhibited and published before, yet the Chagall Committee never questioned their authenticity,'' said Tseretelli. ``In fact, members of the Committee were even at our museum for events, and nothing was ever said.''
The three paintings were purchased in the 1990s by Zurab Tseretelli, the President of the Russian Academy of Arts, and Vasily's grandfather.
6) Victor Pinchuk and New Acquisitions
During the Sept 27 opening of an exhibition of Andreas Gursky photographs at the Pinchuk Art Centre Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk said he purchased works by Damien Hirst at the artist's auction in London on Sept 16-17 that sold 218 out of 223 lots for a total of 111.5 million pounds.
Among the guests at the Gursky opening were former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, who is Pinchuk's father-in-law, Simon de Pury, chairman of the auction house Phillips de Pury & Co., and Jay Jopling, owner of White Cube Gallery.
Besides Hirst, Pinchuk also said that acquisitions over the past year include works by other top-selling artists: Gursky, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Anselm Kiefer
Speaking to TAN, Gursky said Pinchuk has one of the ``best private collections'' of his works. "We've known each other for two years. We work together. He comes to me for advice.''
Pinchuk in turn told TAN that when he first saw Gursky's works in 2005 he thought, "Wow, that's amazing!''
7) Georgia and South Ossetia Claim Cultural Heritage Sites Destroyed in War
The guns have silenced, but Russia and Georgia continue an information war against each other, most recently accusing each other of destroying historical and cultural sites during their week-long war in August.
At the end of September Georgia issued a 26-page report detailing how Russian air attacks destroyed dozens of churches, monasteries, and museums. Among these are the 12th century Ikorta Church, the 11th century Bishop's House in Nicosi, and a 7th century monastery, also in Nicosi. Georgia appealed to UNESCO to send a mission to Russian-occupied areas to better ascertain the situation with cultural sites. Located in the Caucasus mountain region on the border between Europe and Asia, Georgia is one of the most ancient cultures in the world, creating its own state in the 5th century B.C. In the 4th century it became one of the first states to accept Christianity, and therefore has many ancient churches and monasteries.
On August 7, Russia invaded Georgia claiming to protect Russian citizens living in the rebellious republic of South Ossetia, and now recognizes it as an independent country. Russia claimed Georgian troops damaged 11 cultural and historical sites in the local capital, Tskhinval. These include the 18th century Birth of the Virgin Mary Church; a local synagogue; and buildings in the city's historical district. Russia's deputy foreign minister Alexander Yakovenko told journalists his country will raise the issue with UNESCO.
In related news, Georgia said it will close the Museum of Joseph Stalin in the city of Gori that was dedicated to the life of the Soviet dictator, and reopen the building with the Museum of Russian Aggression.
8) Baibakov Art Projects Officially Launches in December
First the wives and girlfriends of Russia's new wealthy businessmen powered the country's contemporary art scene, opening galleries, foundations and art centres such as the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Stella Art Foundation, Ruarts Foundation, and the Winzavod Contemporary Art Centre. Now the children have grown up and their ambitious plans could seriously impact the country's art scene.
Russia's latest art foundation is the brainchild of Maria Baibakova, the 23-year old daughter of Oleg Baibakov, a former top manager at Norilsk Nickel, one of Russia's leading mining companies. She launches Baibakov Art Projects on Dec. 12 with an exhibition of young Russian contemporary artists at the Red October Chocolate Factory across from the Kremlin. Half of the space will be used as a 1,300 square meter studio for artists.
"The exhibition will be a fresh look at Russian contemporary art,'' said Baibakova in a TAN exclusive. ``Artists in the show will work on their projects in a joint studio, on site, and work continuously on their installations and art. This exhibition is not going to be about who is established and who is not. I want to see real talent emerge.''
Baibakova said the studio space will only be available in preparation for the exhibition, and will not be permanent.
"The problem is that most artists in Russia have been suffocated by lack of funds for production, by very controlling curatorial visions, and by the need to make commercial work to survive,'' said Baibakova. ``This exhibition will free them from all three obstacles.''
She discovered Red October in May 2007 when invited to tour the factory by the owners, Guta Group, which plans to reconvert the space into luxury apartments. Until construction begins, Baibakova convinced Guta to allow Red October to be used for art events. She even introduced the site to Gagosian Gallery, which on Sept 18 opened an exhibition in Moscow.
Unlike many of the self-taught Russian women who pioneered the country's contemporary art scene over the past decade, Baibakova has an art education and professional art experience. She studied at Columbia University and the Courtauld Institute, and spent several years working in auction houses and galleries, as well as on private advisory and curating. In June she curated a group show of Russian art at the Paradise Row Gallery in London, which featured Gosha Ostretsov. On Nov. 6 at Diehl + Galerie One in Moscow she opens ``Laughterlife 2,'' a group show of Russian and Central Asian artists.
"There are many more projects in the works, which I am not prepared to discuss at this moment in time,'' said Baibakova. "My plans are long-term, and I plan to open a show every 2 to 3 months.''
Novikov is best-known for creating the New Academy of Fine Art movement in 1989, which urged the preservation of classical traditions in modern art. He contracted AIDS while living in New York in the early 1990s, and died in St. Petersburg in May 2002 at the age of 43.
"Passengers will feel they're actually inside a work of art by Novikov,'' S7 Airlines said in a statement. The company said such a project is part of its larger plans to boost business by developing art tourism as a travel destination both domestically and internationally.
Also on Sept. 24 the State Hermitage Museum opened its first-ever Novikov exhibition, featuring 25 works by the artists from American, European and Russian collections.
2) Dasha Zhukova's Garage Denies Conflict with Jewish Community
Shortly after Dasha Zhukova and billionaire Roman Abramovich opened the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture (GCCC) in Moscow in mid September, Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities announced the opening a Museum of Tolerance in the very same building. Garage is the former Bakhmetevsky Bus Depot, a listed 1925 modernist building built by Konstantin Melnikov. It has 8,500-square-meters of space.
The announcement created some confusion in the art community, and rumours began to fly doubting GCCC's future. The Federation unites Orthodox Jewish communities, mostly Chabad Hasidic, and already owns and operates a community centre on the territory of the Garage complex. Abramovich, who is GCCC's main sponsor, heads the Federation's board of trustees.
GCCC told The Art Newspaper (TAN) that it will coexist with the Federation in the Melnikov garage.
"The relationship is very straightforward,'' said Erica Bolton, GCCC spokesperson. ``The Museum of Tolerance will be housed on the 1st floor and GCCC will be on the ground floor. So they will not interfere with each other.''
In related news, Ms Zhukova told TAN that rumours of GCCC involvement in commercial sales is not true. "Absolutely no selling of art at all!'' said Zhukova.
Financial problems, however, could possibly impact GCCC. According to Bloomberg News, Abramovich "lost $20 billion based on assets'' as a results of the global financial crisis that has seen the Russian stock exchange fall in total value by about 60%, the greatest decrease of any country.
3) New Director for Tsarskoe Selo Museum
On Sept. 30, Russia's Culture Ministry chose Olga Taratynova to head the Tsarskoe Selo Estate Museum, one of Russia's leading museums, with about 200,000 items in its collection. Taratynova immediately resigned her post as deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg City Committee for the Protection of Cultural Sites (KGIOP), where she worked since 1996. She replaces recently-deceased Tsarskoe Selo director, Ivan Sautov, her husband. He died of a heart attack on August 1 in Finland. Taratynova is currently forming her staff and has declined comment.
The estate originally was the summer residence of the czars and czarinas, and the sumptuous 18th century Catherine Palace, home to the Amber Room, is its main attraction. It's located in the town of Pushkin (known before 1917 as Tsarskoe Selo, or Tsar's Village), about 25 kilometers south of St. Petersburg
Taratynova's appointment surprised many. Local media predicted Viktor Lobko, a career Communist Party official and the current chief of staff for St Petersburg governor, Valentina Matvienko, would take over Tsarskoe Selo. The city's intelligentsia, which admired Sautov and supported his wife as the new director, lobbied the Culture Ministry in Moscow to prevent this.
In 2010 Tsarskoe Selo will mark its tercentennial, and both the federal government and the city plan to invest heavily in the palace and the town of Pushkin.
4) Russia's Most Ancient Icon Restored
The State Art Restoration Research Institute in Moscow concluded a six-year restoration of Russia's most ancient icon, the 11th century icon of St Peter and St. Paul, which hales from the State Novgorod Museum in the city of Veliky Novgorod, a city of about 200,000 people located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The icon will return to the museum by the end of the year.
A Byzantine monk living in Russia is believed to have painted the 2.5-meter by 1.5 meter icon. Russia converted to Christian Orthodoxy at the end of the 10th century under the influence of the Byzantine Empire with which it had long been trading and warring. The Nazis looted the icon during their occupation of Veliky Novgorod in World War II. The icon was discovered in a Berlin storage center in 1945.
From the 9th century to the 16th century Veliky Novgorod was among the most advanced and powerful political entities in Eastern Europe with a vast empire that covered most of northern Russia. Ivan the Terrible ended its existence as an independent political entity when he sacked the city in 1570 and killed or enslaved most of the inhabitants.
5) MMoMA Challenges Allegations of Fake Chagall Works
The Moscow Museum of Modern Art told TAN that it disputes claims by the Paris-based Marc Chagall Committee that three of its Chagall paintings are not genuine. Vasily Tseretelli, MMoMA's director, said he feels someone has misled the Chagall Committee, and insisted his museum is ready to conduct all necessary expert evaluations to prove the authenticity of the three paintings.
In mid September the Chagall Committee informed Tokyo's Bunkamura Museum of Art that Chagall's Portrait Of A Woman(1908), Family (1911-1912), and Violinist (1917) on loan from MMoMA were not genuine. The paintings were excluded from the next leg of the tour at the Suntory Museum in Osaka.
The three works are part of an exhibition of 70 paintings titled, "The Spring of the Russian Avant-garde.'' Tseretelli said the show is enjoying enormous success and he feels that has aroused some jealousy among the museum's detractors.
"These three paintings have been exhibited and published before, yet the Chagall Committee never questioned their authenticity,'' said Tseretelli. ``In fact, members of the Committee were even at our museum for events, and nothing was ever said.''
The three paintings were purchased in the 1990s by Zurab Tseretelli, the President of the Russian Academy of Arts, and Vasily's grandfather.
6) Victor Pinchuk and New Acquisitions
During the Sept 27 opening of an exhibition of Andreas Gursky photographs at the Pinchuk Art Centre Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk said he purchased works by Damien Hirst at the artist's auction in London on Sept 16-17 that sold 218 out of 223 lots for a total of 111.5 million pounds.
Among the guests at the Gursky opening were former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, who is Pinchuk's father-in-law, Simon de Pury, chairman of the auction house Phillips de Pury & Co., and Jay Jopling, owner of White Cube Gallery.
Besides Hirst, Pinchuk also said that acquisitions over the past year include works by other top-selling artists: Gursky, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Anselm Kiefer
Speaking to TAN, Gursky said Pinchuk has one of the ``best private collections'' of his works. "We've known each other for two years. We work together. He comes to me for advice.''
Pinchuk in turn told TAN that when he first saw Gursky's works in 2005 he thought, "Wow, that's amazing!''
7) Georgia and South Ossetia Claim Cultural Heritage Sites Destroyed in War
The guns have silenced, but Russia and Georgia continue an information war against each other, most recently accusing each other of destroying historical and cultural sites during their week-long war in August.
At the end of September Georgia issued a 26-page report detailing how Russian air attacks destroyed dozens of churches, monasteries, and museums. Among these are the 12th century Ikorta Church, the 11th century Bishop's House in Nicosi, and a 7th century monastery, also in Nicosi. Georgia appealed to UNESCO to send a mission to Russian-occupied areas to better ascertain the situation with cultural sites. Located in the Caucasus mountain region on the border between Europe and Asia, Georgia is one of the most ancient cultures in the world, creating its own state in the 5th century B.C. In the 4th century it became one of the first states to accept Christianity, and therefore has many ancient churches and monasteries.
On August 7, Russia invaded Georgia claiming to protect Russian citizens living in the rebellious republic of South Ossetia, and now recognizes it as an independent country. Russia claimed Georgian troops damaged 11 cultural and historical sites in the local capital, Tskhinval. These include the 18th century Birth of the Virgin Mary Church; a local synagogue; and buildings in the city's historical district. Russia's deputy foreign minister Alexander Yakovenko told journalists his country will raise the issue with UNESCO.
In related news, Georgia said it will close the Museum of Joseph Stalin in the city of Gori that was dedicated to the life of the Soviet dictator, and reopen the building with the Museum of Russian Aggression.
8) Baibakov Art Projects Officially Launches in December
First the wives and girlfriends of Russia's new wealthy businessmen powered the country's contemporary art scene, opening galleries, foundations and art centres such as the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Stella Art Foundation, Ruarts Foundation, and the Winzavod Contemporary Art Centre. Now the children have grown up and their ambitious plans could seriously impact the country's art scene.
Russia's latest art foundation is the brainchild of Maria Baibakova, the 23-year old daughter of Oleg Baibakov, a former top manager at Norilsk Nickel, one of Russia's leading mining companies. She launches Baibakov Art Projects on Dec. 12 with an exhibition of young Russian contemporary artists at the Red October Chocolate Factory across from the Kremlin. Half of the space will be used as a 1,300 square meter studio for artists.
"The exhibition will be a fresh look at Russian contemporary art,'' said Baibakova in a TAN exclusive. ``Artists in the show will work on their projects in a joint studio, on site, and work continuously on their installations and art. This exhibition is not going to be about who is established and who is not. I want to see real talent emerge.''
Baibakova said the studio space will only be available in preparation for the exhibition, and will not be permanent.
"The problem is that most artists in Russia have been suffocated by lack of funds for production, by very controlling curatorial visions, and by the need to make commercial work to survive,'' said Baibakova. ``This exhibition will free them from all three obstacles.''
She discovered Red October in May 2007 when invited to tour the factory by the owners, Guta Group, which plans to reconvert the space into luxury apartments. Until construction begins, Baibakova convinced Guta to allow Red October to be used for art events. She even introduced the site to Gagosian Gallery, which on Sept 18 opened an exhibition in Moscow.
Unlike many of the self-taught Russian women who pioneered the country's contemporary art scene over the past decade, Baibakova has an art education and professional art experience. She studied at Columbia University and the Courtauld Institute, and spent several years working in auction houses and galleries, as well as on private advisory and curating. In June she curated a group show of Russian art at the Paradise Row Gallery in London, which featured Gosha Ostretsov. On Nov. 6 at Diehl + Galerie One in Moscow she opens ``Laughterlife 2,'' a group show of Russian and Central Asian artists.
"There are many more projects in the works, which I am not prepared to discuss at this moment in time,'' said Baibakova. "My plans are long-term, and I plan to open a show every 2 to 3 months.''
