Shifts in the Moscow Gallery Landscape

Igor Tabakov / MT

Marat Guelmans gallery has never stopped organizing exhibits but will now return to the commercial art trade.

Thelandscape ofMoscow galleries seems tocyclically shift andthen ossify every couple ofyears dominant galleries drop off andnew spaces open, resulting ina small circle ofregular venues that hold themajority ofthe big art shows. This week has brought news ofsome notable shifts inthe Moscow art world, with theGarage Center forContemporary Culture revealing significant additions totheir exhibition space, while gallerist Marat Guelman announced his return tothe art trade.

TheGarage Center forContemporary Culture was founded in2008 byDasha Zhukova, aformer model andcurrent romantic partner oftycoon Roman Abramovich who has recently been pilloried fora photo showing her seated ona chair resembling anaked black woman. Despite thelimited credentials ofits founder, Garage's significant financial resources have quickly made it animportant venue forarts inMoscow, with exhibits fromprominent international artists attended bycelebrities andbusiness leaders.

Garage has already shifted locations, leaving its first home atthe former Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage fora temporary pavilion inGorky Park, yet it has been announced that it will move toits permanent home inthe Gorky Park pavilion formerly occupied bythe Seasons restaurant inabout 14 months. Garage also announced theopening ofProject Space, anew experimental exhibit space aimed forpresenting work byyoung andless well-established artists than themain Garage exhibit platforms.

Garage Center forContemporary Culture

Garage Center forContemporary Culture

Garage Center forContemporary Culture

Three homes ofGarage (top down), frombus park totheir future building.

Garage has already called forexhibit proposals fromcurators forthe new space, which will open inFebruary. Aseries offive exhibits has already been announced forFebruary, beginning with curator Snezhana Kristevaya's project "There, Where We Are Not," which will include works bya number ofyoung Russian artists.

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Shifts in the Moscow Gallery Landscape