Art in Moscow

The Scene

Winzavod continues housing galleries and studios. GES-2 — Renzo Piano conversion — programs with institutional quality. Garage Museum in Gorky Park continues operating. MMOMA operates across five locations. The Tretyakov Gallery — both Lavrushinsky Lane and Krymsky Val wings.

Key Players

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov defined Moscow's contribution to late-20th-century art. AES+F produces large-format video about spectacle. Vladey auction house is the primary market platform for Russian contemporary art. The Malevich and Kandinsky holdings at the Tretyakov make it essential.

History & DNA

The Russian avant-garde — Malevich's Black Square (1915), Tatlin's Tower (1919). Socialist realism. The Nonconformist movement of the 1960s-80s. Sotheby's 1988 Moscow auction brought Russian art to international market.

Where to Go

• Tretyakov (Krymsky Val) — 20th-century Russian art. The avant-garde rooms.
• GES-2 — Bolotnaya Nab 15.
• Winzavod — Triumph Gallery and XL Gallery.
• Pushkin Museum — Volkhonka 12. Impressionist holdings.

The Outlook

Russian art has always produced its most significant work under constraint. The current isolation may prove to be among the most important periods. The question is when the rest of the world will see it.