Fair exhibitions: Cosmoscow shows museum projects

A multi—meter installation with shattering glass balls, a hallucinogenic carpet and goatskin figurines are just some of the memorable exhibits at the Cosmoscow Contemporary Art Fair. This is the 14th time it has been held in Moscow, presenting visitors with the latest paintings, graphics, sculptures, photographs, as well as the craziest art objects. This year, the Timiryazev Center has 113 gallery stands, 21 partner exhibitions, as well as 10 non-profit cultural projects. Izvestia was among the first to appreciate the diversity presented.

Whipping balls

Cosmoscow has long been more than just a fair where the main goal is to sell more. Today it is one of the key industrial events of the year, which clearly demonstrates who is who in this environment and sets the vector for the future. Well, Cosmoscow gives the general public the opportunity to see a cross-section of the brightest and most promising (at least commercially) that Russian artists are doing here and now. After all, you don't run into endless gallery exhibitions, but here it's all the best at once.

And although the organizing committee of the fair itself does not dictate to the gallery owners what to show, they naturally rely on what will definitely attract attention. Plus, Cosmoscow chooses the artist of the year every year — and gives him the opportunity to realize a notable solo project. This also sets a certain level. This time, the honor fell to Igor Airplane, a relatively young author (40+), known for his installations and original use of photography (what is called post-digital).

The aircraft built the Splash performance facility at the Timiryazev Center, which is a platform with a multi-meter conveyor heading skyward, two fenced-off areas and three performers. The first of them, a young one, puts a glass ball on the conveyor. When he reaches the top, he falls into a mini-room with transparent walls and crashes loudly. The second participant, a middle-aged man, collects the pieces and passes them to the third, an elderly man. And he sells to anyone who wants. Unsold — decorates a semicircular plastic wall.

According to the author, the balls symbolize ideas. Whether to consider their future fate tragic or, on the contrary, happy, because each fragment still finds its place, is an open question. An airplane is generally alien to straightforward narratives and poster slogans. And it is more interesting for him to think not about today, but about the eternal. Coincidentally or not, the majority of Cosmoscow exhibitors agree with him on this.

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Reach for the moon

Attention is attracted by another recognized author, a philosopher, only of an older generation, Leonid Tishkov. The Artzip gallery gave him its entire space, and he showed his signature cycle about the moon. This is a series of photographs where Tishkov himself travels through cities and towns with a huge glowing crescent moon; a number of graphic works playing the same motif; two brand new bronze sculptures (one of them depicts a little man holding up a ladder to a star in the sky, the other is a bent wanderer with a moon on his back)… But the main thing is an eight—sheet album, referring to the traditions of Ilya Kabakov and telling the parable of a lost hero who tried to reach heaven.

All the works are for sale, but it seems that if you take them out of the general context, they will lose a lot of their charm. And this is typical for many Cosmoscow booths, which are designed as mini-expositions rather than just product displays. This is, for example, the Indian zone: the BRICS country is represented at the fair on a particularly large scale this year. Moreover, all prices for the works are stated in rubles.

Here, first of all, the walls are conspicuous, filled with many small figures made of natural goat leather. Parents with children, schoolchildren, hard workers… Artist Madhukar Mucharla portrays representatives of the working class, reflecting on social inequality and the injustice of the caste system — the poorest segments of the population traditionally worked as tanners.

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Placed seemingly chaotically (actually not) on a white wall, the figures are sold only together — for 4 million. You can try to persuade the author to divide them into three groups, then the price for each will be 1.5 million rubles, but a positive decision is not guaranteed.

No less extravagant and impressive is the work of Sumaksha Singh, the artist of the National Pavilion of India at the 61st Venice Biennale this year. She also recently exhibited at the Hermitage Museum as part of the project "On the Sweets of the World", dedicated to Indian art. Singh embroider the finest lace on the fabric, after which the base is removed and only transparent ephemeral knitting remains. Her "Monuments" depict the columns of the Qutb Minar religious complex from Delhi: the fragility of the material can be perceived as a metaphor for the vulnerability of the historical artifacts themselves.

And it's also just beautiful, especially if you exhibit the work at some distance from the wall, so that the light falling through the lace creates another column of shadows. By the way, despite the obvious impracticality and inconvenience of storage, Sumaksha Singh's work was sold in the very first hours of the fair's pre-screening. But, as the staff of the stand told Izvestia, Sumaksha is ready to make similar things to order.

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From Iran to Suzdal

In addition to India, Iran has declared itself at Cosmoscow. Contrary to expectations, there are no echoes of the war with America in the works. But there are many references to ancient Persian traditions. By the way, there is also a definite message in this: no matter what difficult times the Iranian people are going through, there is a huge cultural tradition behind them (no match for the current offender). And the artists remember this. Take at least one of the exhibits: a carpet, the center of which seems to be spinning in a hallucinogenic whirlpool. This is how ancient oriental craft and surrealism of the 21st century meet.

Cosmoscow will be open to the general public for only three days, from September 4 to September 6. However, much of what is shown there will later become the basis of full—fledged exhibition projects, both in Moscow and in the regions. For example, the WORLD Collection has revealed the image of the future museum in Suzdal, which will open in the spring of 2027 (among the works of the XX–XXI century, Ilya Repin's huge late canvas "Hopak" looks quite unexpectedly on the stand). And the Voznesensky Center showed a "teaser" of Yegor Letov's future exhibition — yes, the leader of Civil Defense was not only a musician, but also an artist who created colorful and surprisingly positive collages.

And it seems that his work is even more relevant today than harsh rock: after all, positive emotions are needed by the modern audience more than ever. Even if he goes to contemporary art fairs.