Karl Marx comes to light again
Russian art has proved to be in demand at the largest art festival in the world, Art Basel, in Switzerland, a Mecca for art collectors from around the world.
ґOne of the most expensive works sold at the preview gala-opening of the posh event was a canvas by the cutting-edge Russian-American artist, Mark Rothko whose abstract masterpiece was sold for $5.5 million.
Among the VIP guests were Roman Abramovich`s girlfriend Dasha Zhukova, head of Moscow`s Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, and the "Black Panther" Naomi Campbell, Russian billionaire`s Vladislav Doronin`s girfriend.
With works by some 2,500 artists from around the world, valued at nearly $2 billion, not only big money, but also time is needed to visit all the 300 galleries from 35 countries presented at the far-reaching exhibition.
The only Russian gallery taking part in Art Basel this time around is "Regina", established back in 1990 by an art aficionado, Vladimir Ovcharenko.
ґOne of Moscow`s most important and oldest privately-owned galleries has a twin sister in the UK, "Regina Gallery London", situated in the bohemian Fitzrovia district, a neighborhood of fancy galleries, restaurants and boutiques.
Among the artists whose works are shining at Art Basel is one of the most important representatives of the late Moscow Conceptualist School, Pavel Pepperstein. His virtuoso watercolor from his series "Hypnosis" might seem nothing more than a naпve illustration from a children`s book. The artist`s deceptively-accessible figurative language, however, is used to translate a complex system of codes, which reflect his take on the current socio-political situation.
Beginning with his early works of the early 1980`s, Pepperstein has studied Russian cultural context in his unconventional paintings, drawings, albums and literary works, reflecting the characteristic paradoxes of consciousness and deconstructing popular stereotypes.
For instance, his The Dark Red Star, on display in Basel, is, according to the artist, a typical example of how Malevich`s formal constructions are being used as an effective instrument for analysis of contemporary political and cultural situation in Russia.
|
