|catalog| Contemporary Art Fair
Sytin Printing Press — Pyatnickaya 71/5 (Moscow)
April 12—14, 2024
Stand № 1.17
Artists
Anna Bystrova / painting and graphics
Yulia Virko / painting
Mila Gushchina / embroidery and graphics
Daria Kiseleva / ceramics
Alena Rogatko / textiles
April 12—14, 2024
Stand № 1.17
Artists
Anna Bystrova / painting and graphics
Yulia Virko / painting
Mila Gushchina / embroidery and graphics
Daria Kiseleva / ceramics
Alena Rogatko / textiles
About the fair
The Association of Galleries supports several areas of activity, the most important of which is the development of the Russian art market. Being the most important institutions of contemporary art, fairs stimulate the growth of the market not only by quantity, but also by the regularity of their holding: |catalog| is held twice a year in Moscow (spring and winter), and also plans to regularly organize fairs in different cities of Russia. This will allow the widest audience to be introduced and involved in a dialogue with the country's current art, and will open up new directions and local art scenes for Moscow collectors.
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 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.
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.
*Instagram is a project of Meta Platforms Inc., whose activities are prohibited in Russia