Keti Chukhrov Analyzes Putin-Medvedev Cultural Politics and Moscow Biennale
In her 2011 essay for Afterall, Keti Chukhrov examines the transformation of Russian contemporary art from the 1990s through the late 2000s, emphasizing the transition to a cultural landscape influenced by state and oligarch interests during the tenures of Putin and Medvedev. The First Moscow Biennale in 2005 served as a pivotal moment, as the Ministry of Culture began to adopt contemporary art to cultivate a 'New Russian' identity. This period saw the rise of new galleries catering to the affluent, while art became a tool for the state and business elite to gain symbolic capital. The 2009 Third Moscow Biennale, curated by Jean-Hubert Martin, showcased ornamental aesthetics reflecting 'conservative modernisation.' Chukhrov critiques the artists' involvement in this dynamic, tracing the roots of statism from the 1990s actionist movement to oligarch supporters such as Daria Zhukova and Maria Baibakova.
Key facts
- Essay by Keti Chukhrov published in Afterall Journal 26 on 9 February 2011.
- First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art took place in 2005, curated by Joseph Backstein, Daniel Birnbaum, Iara Boubnova, Nicolas Bourriaud, Fulya Erdemci, Gunnar B. Kvaran, Rosa Martínez, and Hans-Ulrich Obrist.
- Stella Art Foundation was established by Stella Kesoeva in 2004; Triumph Gallery by Emelian Zakharov in 2005.
- Third Moscow Biennale in 2009 was curated by Jean-Hubert Martin with the project 'Against Exclusion' at Garage Center for Contemporary Culture.
- Vladislav Surkov, First Deputy Chief of the Presidential Executive Office, wrote a preface for the Third Moscow Biennale catalogue.
- Moscow actionism (1991-99) included artists Anatoly Osmolovsky, Dmitry Gutov, Oleg Kulik, and Alexander Brener.
- Self-organized groups in the 1990s included Logos publishers (1991), Ad Marginem publishers (1993), Moscow Art Magazine (1993), and Radek art journal (1994-99).
- Exhibitions 'Battle for the Banner' (2008) and 'The Kudimkor – Future Locomotive' (2009) by Ekaterina Degot are noted as exceptions to the dominant trend.
Entities
Artists
- Keti Chukhrov
- Anatoly Osmolovsky
- Dmitry Gutov
- Oleg Kulik
- Alexander Brener
- Andrei Monastyrsky
- Pavel Pepperstein
- Vadim Zakharov
- Juri Albert
- Viktor Misiano
- Daria Zhukova
- Maria Baibakova
- Jean-Hubert Martin
- Joseph Backstein
- Daniel Birnbaum
- Iara Boubnova
- Nicolas Bourriaud
- Fulya Erdemci
- Gunnar B. Kvaran
- Rosa Martínez
- Hans-Ulrich Obrist
- Stella Kesoeva
- Emelian Zakharov
- Igor Markin
- Alexander Dolgin
- Sergey Minaev
- Julia Millner
- Juri Millner
- Alexander Pogorelsky
- Valery Fadeev
- Gleb Pavlovksy
- Vladislav Surkov
- Vitaly Tretyakov
- Dmitry Medvedev
- Vladimir Putin
- Boris Groys
- Michel Foucault
- Giorgio Agamben
- Romuald Hazoumé
- Chéri Cherin
- Agatoack Ronny Kowspi
- Djambawas Marawili
- Doreen Reid Nakamara
- William Kentridge
- Ekaterina Degot
- Herve Mikaeloff
- Julia Aksenova
- Konstantine Bokhorov
- Joulia /khonova
- Marat Guelman
- Alexander Sokolov
- Arseni Jilyaev
- Sergey Khachaturov
- Alexandra Sukhareva
- Stas Shuripa
- Sergei Ogurtsov
- Arseni Zhilyaev
- Olga Chernysheva
- Tanatos Banionis
Institutions
- Afterall
- Ministry of Culture (Russia)
- Rosiso (State Centre of Exhibiting Programmes)
- Stella Art Foundation
- Triumph Gallery
- Soros Foundation
- Ford Foundation
- MacArthur Foundation
- Logos publishers
- Ad Marginem publishers
- Visual Anthropology
- Philosophy Institute
- TV gallery
- Moscow Art Magazine
- Radek art journal
- Radek community
- ETI (Expropriation of Art Territory)
- Non-Governmental Control Commission
- XL Gallery
- Guelman Gallery
- Regina Gallery
- Garage Center for Contemporary Culture
- Baibakov Art Projects
- Red October chocolate factory
- Art4.ru
- Ekaterina Cultural Foundation
- City Art Foundation
- Winzavod Art Centre
- National Center of Contemporary Art
- Moscow Museum of Modern Art
- Fabrika Art Centre
- Territory of Future
- Institute for Social Planning
- Foundation of Effective Policy
- Political Class (journal)
- Shchusev State Research Museum of Architecture
- Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery
- ARTPLAY Design Center
- PROEKT FABRIKA
- Factory of Found Clothes
- Chto delat?
Locations
- Moscow
- Russia
- St Petersburg
- Red Square
- Lenin's Mausoleum
- Venice
- Italy
- Benin
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- New Guinea
- South Africa
- Central Australia
- Kudimkor
Sources
- Afterall —