Garage Museum Opens Permanent Gorky Park Home by Rem Koolhaas, Featuring Exhibitions on 1960s Russia and Global Art
Founded in 2008 by Dasha Zhukova and Roman Abramovich, Moscow's Garage Museum of Contemporary Art has moved to Gorky Park, where it now occupies a renovated Soviet Modernist restaurant from 1968, designed by architect Rem Koolhaas. The museum's current exhibitions delve into the life and politics of the 1960s, showcasing fictional characters and recreating the 1959 American kitchen from the Khrushchev-Nixon Kitchen Debate. Featured international artists include Yayoi Kusama, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Katharina Grosse, and Eric Bulatov, whose works reflect 1920s Soviet advertising. Upcoming shows include Louise Bourgeois's "Structures of Existence: The Cells" on September 25 and Anish Kapoor's "My Red Homeland" at the Jewish Museum, aligning with the 6th Moscow Biennale. Gorky Park was established by Stalin in 1923.
Key facts
- Garage Museum of Contemporary Art is Moscow's first privately funded art center, founded in 2008 by Dasha Zhukova.
- The museum moved to a permanent home in Gorky Park in midsummer 2015, designed by Rem Koolhaas from a 1968 Soviet restaurant.
- Current exhibitions focus on 1960s Russia, including student projects creating fictional characters from archives.
- International artists like Yayoi Kusama, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Katharina Grosse have installations at the museum.
- Eric Bulatov displays two nine-meter-tall paintings at the entrance with slogans inspired by Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
- Upcoming exhibitions include Louise Bourgeois opening September 25 and Anish Kapoor at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center.
- The museum's original venue was the Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, now hosting Kapoor's show during the 6th Moscow Biennale.
- Gorky Park was built by Stalin in 1923 and previously featured abandoned structures.
Entities
Artists
- Dasha Zhukova
- Rem Koolhaas
- Yayoi Kusama
- Rirkrit Tiravanija
- Katharina Grosse
- Eric Bulatov
- Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Louise Bourgeois
- Anish Kapoor
- Jackson Pollock
Institutions
- Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
- Tretyakov Gallery
- Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center
- Chelsea Football Club
- Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art
Locations
- Moscow
- Russia
- Gorky Park
- Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage
- Washington
- London
- New York
- Britain