Sovrisk is a noble cause: Russian artists are expected at an art exhibition in Paris

The culture of Russian artists is gradually weakening, and interest in Russian contemporary art continues to grow. Representatives of the Russian art scene are increasingly entering foreign markets, primarily in Asia. At the same time, works by authors with Russian roots also appear on European platforms. At the end of October, Alexandra Uryasova and Polina Teyrass will present their paintings at the Carrousel du Louvre space in the heart of Paris at the international Art Shopping fair. Both live and work in France today, but they keep in touch with their homeland. About how the attitude towards Russian art abroad is changing and what exhibition projects are being prepared this fall, see the Izvestia article.

From Ulyanovsk to Paris

Twice a year, one of the most notable international exhibitions of contemporary art takes place directly under the Louvre. Artists, gallery owners, collectors and ordinary viewers from more than 50 countries meet here. From October 23 to October 25, artists from Russia will show their works at stands of nine square meters.

For Alexandra Uryasova, participation in the Paris fair was a continuation of several years of living and working in France. The 24-year-old artist was born in Ulyanovsk, and in 2020 she entered the Paris American Academy and has been spending most of her time in Paris ever since. She now works as an independent artist. At the same time, Uryasova emphasizes that she has not completely emigrated: she lives in two countries and is open to offers from Russian gallery owners.

The girl received an invitation to Art Shopping through professional art associations in France. To participate, it was necessary to pass the selection process: fill out an application, tell about your education, exhibition experience and present the series that the artist intends to show.

Sculptor to the blackboard: the first exhibition of Stepan Erzi's works in half a century opened in the Tretyakov Gallery

The exhibition features 80 masterpieces by "Russian Rodin", who made the iron tree sing

— I chose Inside of the Studio. I filled out the form and waited, not really hoping for anything. But the answer came very quickly, within a few days. They wrote to me that I had passed the competition and could take part," the artist said in a conversation with Izvestia.

At Carrousel du Louvre, Alexandra Uryasova will present six large works about what happens in the workshop before the finished work appears. The series focuses not so much on the physical space of the studio as on the artist's inner process: an ephemeral state of creation where intuition, thought, doubt and inspiration collide. Each painting reflects a moment of inner search — the transition from chaos to form, from uncertainty to epiphany.

"This is the Louvre!"

For Polina Teyrass, the path to Paris turned out to be different. The 33-year-old artist hails from the Urals, lives and works in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Today, she defines herself as an artist-researcher of extended painting. Her practice develops in the field of neoiconological abstraction, where physical and mathematical patterns coexist with mythology, the Old Testament and the history of art.

Teyrass connects the origins of this creative language with Russian culture, among other things. At one time, she was influenced by Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitzky.

Teyrass is already approaching the Paris fair with European exhibition experience. Her work was shown in Florence in January, in Milan in March, and in Clermont—Ferrand in summer. The girl was supposed to get to Art Shopping at the invitation of the curator of the fair back in the spring, but she did not manage to transport the works from Milan to Paris.

— For three days I couldn't answer — I was just shocked: "This is the Louvre!". As a result, we had to abandon April, and the curator suggested postponing the participation to the October edition. Then it took almost three and a half months to correspond, agree on the terms and prepare the documents. Participation could be arranged in two ways: through the gallery, which takes care of all the formalities, or in the status of a solo artist. I chose the second option: it was important for me to go this way on my own," Polina told Izvestia.

At Carrousel du Louvre, Teirasse will show several works that combine personal mythology and large-scale questions about the origin of the world. One of them is a photo of l'autre côté ("On the other side"), taken at night almost blindly. The artist stopped the car after a strange sound in the dark and, not realizing what was in front of her, took a picture. It later turned out that the horses were in the frame.

For Teyrass, this random photo became a reference to Yuri Norstein's "Hedgehog in the Fog," the work she grew up on. The girl dreams of giving a job to a legendary animation artist one day.

Flowers and lives: from still lifes to the fate of artists

The most striking exhibitions of the holiday season

Another job is Sais-tu, tuê ou? — based on a play on the French words "do you know", "killed" and "where". For three years, Polina combined in it two ideas about the origin of the world: the six days of creation from the Book of Genesis and the physical stages of the formation of the Universe.

Polina's works at the exhibition already belong to collectors and are exhibited with their consent. While paintings by Alexandra Uryasova can be purchased.

Where else can you see the Russian sovrisk in the fall?

The participation of two Russian artists in Art Shopping takes place against the background of a broader return of Russian contemporary art to the international exhibition context.

— It seems to me that the culture of cancellation of Russian artists is gradually weakening. International relations are being restored unevenly, but there is definitely interest in Russian contemporary art," Anastasia Volkova, head of Sistema Gallery, told Izvestia.

According to her, the geography of international cooperation is changing at the same time. Russian galleries are increasingly turning to Asian markets, which have not always been at the center of their attention before.

— We see this from our own experience. Sistema Gallery participates in Kiaf Seoul for the second year in a row (the largest and leading international contemporary art fair in South Korea. — Izvestia). Last year we represented Rostan Tavasiev and Vladimir Dubosarsky there, and this year we will show the works of Misha Most and Sergey Bugaev-Africa," said Volkova.

In addition, the Russian Sistema Gallery and Askeri Gallery plan to present works by Russian artists in Shanghai in November at the major contemporary art fair ART02.