Contrepoint: Russian Contemporary Art at the Louvre Falls Flat

The Louvre's 'Contrepoint: L'art contemporain russe' exhibition (October 14, 2010 – January 30, 2011) in Paris was criticized for its artificial and forced presentation. Unlike previous editions that fostered dialogue with the museum's architecture and collections, this show struggled with the difficult spaces of the medieval Louvre (dungeon, Saint-Louis room) and the model room. The selection of nineteen artists resulted in a disjointed display where no single work stood out. Key pieces by Emilia and Ilya Kabakov—seven maquettes with preparatory drawings—felt diminished in the monumental dungeon hall, with cramped vitrines and poor lighting. Other installations by Yuri Albert, Igor Makarevich and Elena Elagina, Vadim Zakharov, and Alexei Kallima appeared grandiose but hollow. The exhibition included works by Erik Boulatov, Avdei Ter-Oganyan, Blue Noses Group, and A.E.S.+F. Group, among others. Notable exceptions were Olga Chernysheva's drawings from the 'Russian Museum' series and her video homage to Caspar David Friedrich, and Alexander Brodsky's pavilion installed in the Tuileries Garden. Critic Damien Sausset concluded that the attempt to cover an entire national scene led to arbitrary choices and incomprehensible practices.