Translated material
The first volume of art market legends
The exhibition “New Russian Collections” opened at the Moscow Arts Center
The Moscow Art Center decided to report not only on the activities of its gallery, but also on the functioning of the entire Russian art market. The exhibition contains top-notch, first-class works by masters of the first third of the 20th century, provided by many well-known and completely new collectors. The unusual thing about the show is that all the works (from Goncharova and Sapunov to Drevin and Shterenberg) were acquired last year, 2002. The exhibition is a genuine delicacy for gourmets. You have probably never seen Grigoriev and Saryan like this before. Hurry up! The exhibition will not last long, until February 25. The owner of the Moscow Arts Center, Marina LOSHAK, talks about its meaning and significance to Vremya Novostei newspaper columnist Sergei KHACHATUROV.-- How is the market formed? The desire to obtain the most complete information about this led to the appearance of our exhibition. The exhibition is only a reason to publish a catalog, a summary book, once a year, which will highlight the history of art objects that have just appeared on the art market. The first volume is planned to be published in the autumn so that by the beginning of next year we can prepare a new exhibition and a new catalogue. There will be sections: Western European art, Ancient Rus', 18th century, etc. The top line is Contemporary Art. In a month I plan to hold an exhibition of contemporary Western art, which is bought by our collectors. The names of the artists must be stellar - from Warhol to the most fashionable today. We intend to publish the catalog at the expense of collectors, and we are already starting work.
- Why do we need such a directory?
— I would like to trace the history of things, their provenance. What trends are prevailing? Why did people start buying 30s and 40s of the 20th century, which were previously treated with disdain? If a book dedicated to the provenance of art objects is published every year, everyone will be happy - collectors, dealers, researchers, and museums. We want contemporary art history to be like the chapters of a gripping epic.
How was the exhibition put together?
- With great difficulty. The “New Russian Collections” are presented, those that began to form in the post-perestroika period. The exhibition represents only a small fragment of the material that will be included in the catalogue. On the walls are works by artists from our gallery's favorite period - the first third of the 20th century. Despite the fact that some paintings had already been exhibited at the Moscow Arts Center, my main task was to arrange a “premiere” display of works acquired by collectors no earlier than 2002.
— What are the most interesting works, in your opinion?
- I adore everything. But there are hits that are purely collectible. Here is a closet cover, the embroidered pattern of which is based on a drawing by El Lissitzky (1917-1918). The authorship is beyond doubt, since the cape was received from the artist’s son. In 2002, this cape was purchased by the famous Moscow collector Sergei Grigoryants.
Collector Andrei Eremin created an entire section of works by Kazimir Malevich’s student Konstantin Rozhdestvensky, which came from the collection of the artist’s descendants. This collection is being shown for the first time - it can be called a sensation. Another section is dedicated to the masters of the “Jack of Diamonds”: Mashkov, Kuprin, Lentulov, Konchalovsky... The pride of the exhibition is the paintings of Vasily Chekrygin, Mikhail Larionov of the early, “Tiraspol” period, the sketch of Pavel Kuznetsov “Fountain” (1905).