ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Ashot Babykin's Garage Exhibition in Vladivostok

exhibition · 2026-04-24

Thibaut de Ruyter recounts a visit to a fictional exhibition by Ashot Babykin, a member of the invented collective 33+1, staged in a literal garage in Vladivostok. The exhibition features nine used tires transformed into artworks, referencing Russian traditions of tire decoration and post-perestroika poverty. The garage is a parody of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, created by curator Pasha Shugurov, who fabricates artists and works as critical fictions. The exhibition was held in October 2019, with flexible hours and no gift shop. The text appears in artpress as an echo to a report on Vladivostok's art scene (issue 480-481) and a preview of an article on the Russian Contemporary Art Triennial at Garage Moscow (issue 482).

Key facts

  • Exhibition by Ashot Babykin in a garage in Vladivostok
  • Part of the collective 33+1 (33 artists + 1 curator Pasha Shugurov)
  • Nine used tires of different brands but similar size were used as artworks
  • Tires were painted, combined with objects like a mirror, a seascape painting, a garland, a drip system with gasoline, and pink balloons
  • The garage is a parody of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow
  • Pasha Shugurov invented the collective 33+1 and the artist Babykin as critical fictions
  • Shugurov was invited to the Russian Contemporary Art Triennial at Garage Moscow in 2017
  • The exhibition took place in October 2019
  • Hours are flexible, no taxi will take visitors, no gift shop
  • The text is published in artpress as an echo to issue 480-481 and preview of issue 482

Entities

Artists

  • Ashot Babykin
  • Pasha Shugurov
  • Thibaut de Ruyter
  • Marcel Duchamp

Institutions

  • Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow)
  • 33+1
  • artpress

Locations

  • Vladivostok
  • Russia
  • Moscow
  • Almaty
  • Tashkent

Sources