On Times (Paradise) Lost is a group exhibition of contemporary art presented concurrently with Milano Art Week and Design Week, reflecting on how the weightless but nevertheless tangible feeling of home can manifest itself in space through art. The project is supported by Grabar Gallery.

A poll conducted in 2020 showed the majority of European adults and teenagers believe that they or someone close to them are likely to encounter a violent critical incident, experience self-harm, or contract a contagious disease. The results show that safety at work, in school and in public places is no longer an assumption held by most Europeans.

The situation has not gotten better since then, with natural disasters and violent crime wreaking havoc around the world. Art as a form of methodology is now commonplace in different healthcare and therapeutic settings, after being used as a safe haven and refuge in times of emotional distress throughout human history. Art’s capacity to fabricate new knowledge is crucial in healing processes to both individual and social ends.

The exhibition title alludes to the literary masterpieces of Marcel Proust (In Search of Lost Time) and John Milton (Paradise Lost). Thus, the artworks communicate with visitors leading them to the search for that "lost paradise," which can be inner but also "domestic," finding in the concept of home a space to feel safe.

Artists
Stefano Cagol
Irène Cattaneo
Alex Cecchetti
Chun Firouz
Farman-Farmaian
Luigi Ghirri
Lucia Di Luciano
Dominic Scharfer
Yulia Virko
Guendalina Urbani

Curated by Ksenia Lukyanova and Dušan Josip Smodej

Organized by OOU Nomadic Gallery and Ksenia Lukyanova
In collaboration with Italy Sotheby’s International Realty, Grabar Gallery and DINODO Studio

Stand № 1.17

Artists
Anna Bystrova / painting and graphics
Yulia Virko / painting
Mila Gushchina / embroidery and graphics
Daria Kiseleva / ceramics
Alena Rogatko / textiles

The concept of the Grabar Gallery stand at the fair is built around the international Free Hugs movement, founded in 2004 by Juan Mann from Australia, who once felt so lonely that he went to the streets with a “Free Hugs” sign. For twenty years now, followers of the movement suggest to strangers to hug.

The artists reflect on the intimacy between people and the relationship with the world around them. The heroes of their works strive to satisfy their tactile hunger — to gain either safety or their own self. Anna Bystrova works with the theme of self-knowledge through close contact with nature, paying special attention to interconnections in nature. In her works from the “Flora of My Forest” series, plants intertwine and literally “embrace” each other in a search of harmony. Alena Rogatko creates monochrome textile canvases, weaving threads to visualize touch — of hands and sensual hugs.

The large-scale canvas by Julia Virko is the dominant one on the stand. The absurd plot takes place somewhere in the forest and, as it often happens in her works, lands somewhere between the real and the fictional. By extending his hand, a man offers a girl immersion either in a dream or in reality. Mila Gushchina's graphics and embroidery continue the artist's work with the theme of preserving the present self — her heroes hide from the world in a tangle of embraces and thorns.

Daria Kiseleva reflects on the topic of false hugs through the idiom “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” There is no longer a wolf who hides his anger under the mask of decency and meekness; but there is a sheep that suppressed the predator with its warmth, immobilizing it.

Most of the works were created by artists specifically for the fair and will be shown for the first time.

The color scheme of the walls was made with the support of Manders.ru. The key color of the stand is beige-peach (Argile, Nout C47), rhymes to which can be found in the paintings and graphic works of the artists. Depending on the lighting, it can appear cooler or warmer.

Exhibition audio guide recorded by Yevgeny Tsyganov, a stage and film actor

Exhibition video tour

This pop-up exhibition at the central Moscow location of Morozov Mansion was organized by Grabar Gallery and explored the theme of wishes. Participant artists: Lyudmila Baronina, Anna Bystrova, Yulia Virko, Mila Gushchina, Daria Kiseleva and Ulyana Podkorytova, Rodion Kitaev, Sasha Nesterkina, Nikolay Onishchenko, Alexandra Paperno, Rostan Tavasiev, and TOY Crew. Opening-day performance was made by Make a Wish Choir. Curated by Kristina Romanova. 

The artists displayed their contemplations on the wishes of the present day, their own and wishes of others, presented in the form of painting, audio and video installations. Wishes are often linked to childhood, when you anticipate their realization by way of a true miracle — as could be seen in Rodion Kitaev’s fairy-tale works. As life goes on, your wishes either become exceptionally mundane (found in objects from the Consumption series by TOY Crew) or more and more sophisticated and elusive. Dreams of serenity could be discovered in the mysterious forest by Anna Bystrova, and a burning desire to be alive — in the works by Mila Gushchina. 

Many of the exhibits were new commission specially for Two Wishes that engaged in dialogue with the space of the mansion. Sasha Nesterkina recreated a lost chandelier in one of the rooms with an original touch; Nikolay Onischenko occupied the ancient library and staged a party that was impossible to access; the artists Daria Kiseleva and Ulyana Podkorytova offered their fantasy views on an inaccessible celebration. 

Closed for visitors for most of the time, the mansion in Podsosensky Lane contains illustrious interiors by genius architects — from Chichagov to Schechtel — as well as the personal history of Alexey Morozov, an heir to the dynasty of industrialists, a philanthropist and avid collector of the arts. His holdings were nationalized during the Soviet period and distributed among various state museums. For a short while during 2023 winter season, the mansion opened its doors and displayed works by contemporary artists.

The audience could visit Two Wishes in different ways: privately with a map and the audio guide by Yevgeny Tsyganov (free admission); as part of art mediation events; or with a tour of the mansion in partnership with the Engineer History creative bureau, guided by Anastasia Golovina and art mediators.

The Grabar Gallery team took part in the 2nd St. Petersburg Contemporary Art Fair 1703 at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall. At the fair, 36 galleries from Istanbul, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Kaluga presented more than 1.5 thousand artworks for over 15 thousand visitors.

The gallery stand introduced the drawings and paintings by Yulia Virko to the public. The artist adds on to this traditional medium with various experiments: combination, layering, collage, photo archives, and continuously revised textures. Yulia devotes special attention to color in her work. The sophisticated complex story in each painting, laden with a series of unexpressed feelings and emotions, became her signature style.

“For us, participation in the 1703 fair along with the main galleries of the country was an opportunity to look into the future of contemporary Russian art together with visitors, — Natalia Grabar said. — Art fairs are crucial for the art community all over the world, important acquaintances are developed there, and new names often receive well-deserved recognition. It’s wonderful that St. Petersburg has its own fair now”.

The gallery stand was curated by Kristina Romanova.

Work in Progress, a personal exhibition by Yulia Virko in the A. Kasteev State Museum of Arts (Kazakhstan), brought together drawings and paintings by the artist and artwork from the museum’s collection.

The exposition was fashioned as a small labyrinth, with the outer perimeter called the Result and the inner part called the Process. The first part showcased paintings by Virko: the series from the project Consciousness Doesn’t Have Borders (2020) which deals with dreams and the unconscious, and The Promised Mirage — a series of new works.

The second part of Work in Progress, called the Process, became an impromptu artist studio in the middle of the exhibition hall. Selected paintings, studies, drafts, sketchbooks, experimental and unfinished works, and even working garments—all become part of the installation. 

This is the studio where Yulia Virko spent several days making monotypes (metal matrix bearing the image imprinted on paper); these works were based on paintings by Valentin Tkachenko, Stepan Fedyanin, Sabur Mambeev and Zhanatay Shardenov held in the collection of the Kasteev Museum (also on display), which turned out to be quite close to Virko’s work. 

The exhibition was curated by Kristina Romanova.

Consciousness Doesn't Have Borders exhibition brought the large-scale paintings and drawings created by Virko Yulia together with photo collages and videos by Anthony Gelfand into a multi-faceted installation. The exposition is based upon alternating the artists’ works: Virko taking the audience into a bright world of colorful dreams, and Gelfand exploring nostalgic memory and the consciousness into which people are born.

The artistic practice and biographies of Virko and Gelfand are closely intertwined as they both experiment with techniques and materials; both studied illustration and painting in the USA. Yulia Virko’s paintings are created according to the laws of dreams and the unconscious, where the truth comes along with fiction. Anthony Gelfand uses family archives and found objects in his works. 

A labyrinth invented by architect Ksenia Lukyanova, assembled from bright yellow metal modules, offers the spectator several alternative routes to explore. The installation itself turns into an independent masterpiece; it transforms and changes, which allows two young artists to show their works at other exhibition venues across Russia. 

​Consciousness Doesn't Have Borders exhibition has traveled from Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow) to Sevcabel Port (St.Petersburg), then to Center of Contemporary Culture Smena (Kazan) and FUTURO Gallery (Nizhny Novgorod). Audio-guides in different cities were narrated by the artist Oleg Kulik, TV-host Alexander Malich, journalist Alexander Levin, and art historian Alisa Savitskaya. 

The exhibition was curated by Kristina Romanova.