Art diary

90 Russian artists from more than 25 Russian and European galleries presented at the Grand Palais in Paris. “Russian Focus” was initiated by Art Paris director Guillaume Piens.

TEXT: EKATERINA IRAGI, PHOTO: SLAVA FILIPOV. Published in the magazine Numéro N 02 (April 2013).

While Moscow galleries are packing up works before transporting them to Paris, Guillaume Piens and Moscow gallery owner Katya Iraghi are already discussing on the spot how important the decision was to show Russian artists, and even at the Grand Palais. “This is a historically correct place,” Guillaume Piens is clearly excited that his idea is close to fruition. — Nearby is the Alexander III Bridge, which was founded by Nicholas II in honor of his father in 1896, and completed for the World Exhibition of 1900. And in 1906, an exhibition of artists from Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons” was held here for the first time. So the walls of the Grand Palais themselves are very important for Russian-French friendship.” Guillaume, of course, is a romantic, but an expert in Russian art and a great professional.

Before understanding who would be represented in the “Russia – Guest of Honor” program, the organizers personally visited all domestic galleries. Guillaume caught up with Olga Sviblova, an old acquaintance from Paris Photo, whom he had managed for five years, and asked in great detail where to contact her first. At the same time, Guillaume read Orlando Figs's book Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia - a tome that had already prompted director Joe Wright to stage Anna Karenina. Only in contrast to him, Guillaume went to Russia to meet contemporary Russian art: “In Russia, we had an incredibly busy program - so much so that in five days, public relations director Catherine Vauzelle and I visited 16 galleries in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Can you imagine our schedule? We didn't even have time to drink vodka. There were no incidents - except that we got stuck in a traffic jam on the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge - it seems that your president was leaving the Kremlin. We also managed to visit a magnificent high-rise building and admire the view of the Moscow River.” Guillaume means the House on the Embankment. “And in Paris we spent several months searching for Russian art in Europe. We made a whole cartography!”

“Can you imagine our schedule? We didn’t even have time to drink vodka.”

As a result, galleries from Moscow (Iragui, Pechersky, Grinberg, Pop:off:art, Heritage, Nadja Brykina), from St. Petersburg (Marina Gisich, Erarta), from Rostov-on-Don (16th Line) and from Vladivostok (Arka) spend a week in Paris at the end of March. The rest of Russian art is brought from all over Europe and even from America - from Paris, Zurich, Antwerp, Nantes, London, Munich and Washington. Guillaume is proud that he managed to collect so much and everything so different - here are the nonconformists, and Pepperstein, and the Russian-French trio “Fourth Height”, and the little-known Ossip Zadkine. And also Brodsky, Bulatov, Osmolovsky, Kostroma, Mikhailov, Khoroshilova, “Blue Noses”... Everything, almost everything. At the fair itself, all this will be presented not by periods, but by categories: Modern (from the 20s to the mid-20th century), Contemporary (promoted contemporaries) and Emerging (young current). A significant share was made up of the art of Russian emigration: “Even before 1917, Russian artists often traveled to Paris, and after that it became inevitable. Moreover, they may be included in the best artistic circles, understand the way of life in France, but inside they remain very Russian. The amazing power of folklore, spontaneity, even orientality is always with them.”

The Art Paris fair opens with a round table “Russian creativity today: from glamor to political activism” with the participation of curator Andrei Erofeev, a Parisian by birth. Meanwhile, the entire exhibition shows that Russian art is not only actionism. Guillaume believes: “Today in your art all the traumas of a transitional society are visible, the search for a new Russian identity will continue. But it is important that Russia believes in its talents. Look at China - this is who believes in their own people 100%. And the “Russian focus” of Art Paris has already brought crazy interest from the press and collectors - every single one of them confirmed their presence at the preview.” Paris, as always, will help us!