MOSCOW

in partnership with
 Words by Ari Akkermans

SEE
"Moscow, Moscow, I love
EAT
you like son, like a Russian,
– affectionately, tenderly SLEEP
and passionately! I love the MAPS & APPS
sacred splendour of your
marbled hair. And I love this ESSENTIALS
serene, jagged Kremlin."
Mikhail Lermontov

published by
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CanvasMagazine
www.canvasonline.com
 >> MUSEUMS

Garage Museum of Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Contemporary Art One of the largest museums in the city, spread across five venues,
Established in 2008, Garage moved to its permanent home the MMOMA has a definite focus on the 20th and 21st centuries.
only in 2015, into a building designed by Rem Koolhaas in Its collection is rather limited and irregular, but the museum’s
the heart of Gorky Park, one of Moscow’s landmarks. More programme is nonetheless extensive, encompassing several
than a museum, it doubles as a kunsthalle, educational centre ongoing simultaneous exhibitions year-round and showcasing both
and venue for high-profile exhibitions (Robert Longo, Louise international figures and Russian artists. It is traditionally the first
Bourgeois and Ilya Kabakov have all been exhibited). The institution where young Russian artists are shown. The museum
most dynamic Russian museum, staffed with a team of young also publishes publishes monographs and a magazine, runs a public
curators and hosting extensive public programme and research programme and organises international conferences in partnership
projects, Garage has also turned its eye towards young Russian with Russian academic institutions. In 2016–2017, it also housed
artists, supporting publications, a comprehensive library, the Carte Blanche programme in collaboration with V-A-C, and
an archive on Soviet nonconformist art and event grants for presented different exhibitions on Russian Modernism.
foreign curators to visit Garage events, such as the Triennial of
Russian Contemporary Art, held in March 2017. www.mmoma.ru
Tel: +7 495 6942890
www.garagemca.org/en Petrovka Ulitsa 25, 125009 (and four other locations)
Tel: +7 495 645 05 20
9/32 Krimsky Val st., 119049
Multimedia
V-A-C Foundation Art Museum Moscow
Established in 2009, V-A-C is technically still not a An early player in the now expanding landscape of Moscow’s
museum (their permanent location in central Moscow contemporary art museums, the MAMM was founded
will open in 2019), but it operates with the heavy clout initially in 1996 as the Moscow House of Photography,
of one; one of the quintessential institutions in Russian the first contemporary institution devoted solely to this
contemporary art (besides the massive collection of medium. Spearheaded by its founder, Olga Sviblova, the
its founder), with many high-profile exhibitions in museum has since transformed into the current new
Moscow, from Tino Seghal to Hito Steyerl, V-A-C has media-focused institution, including the establishment of
also supported many Russian young artists, such as the Rodchenko Art School, founded in 2006; the museum
Vladislav Shapovalov and Urban Fauna Lab, with has also published several books. MAMM is one of the most
temporary exhibitions and a partnership with the active institutions in Moscow, holding dozens of exhibitions
Moscow Museum of Modern Art as well as international every year, among which are historical retrospectives,
institutions such as Tate Modern. V-A-C has already rediscoveries of Russian modern artists and presentations
opened a space in Venice that debuted this spring with of high-profile international figures.
the major group show Space Force Construction.
www.mamm-mdf.ru/en
www.v-a-c.ru Tel: +7 495 637 1100
Tel: +7 495 9809760 Ostozhenka Ulitsa 16, 119034
Gogolevsky Boulevard 11,
Floor 8, 119019

4 5
 >> ART GALLERIES

State Tretyakov Gallery Osnova Gallery

The most famous of all Russian state galleries,
The youngest Russian gallery in the Vinzavod hub,
Tretyakov houses vast holdings of early and modern
founded in 2014 by the couple Alena Kurmansheva and
Russian art, including household names such as
Dmitry Vetrov, Osnova is already a cutting-edge platform
Malevich, Tatlin and Kandinsky. It dates back to
for emerging and mid-career artists. It shows promising
the 1850s, when Pavel Tretyakov began amassing a
young artists such as Vitaly Barabanov and Nika Neelova
collection. The new gallery, housing works from the
(who has shown at Green Art in Dubai), and recently
20th century and a small contemporary section, is a
began a process of internationalization by participating in
massive Soviet Modernist building set on the banks
Copenhagen’s CODE Art Fair. Osnova has departed from
of the Moscow River and one of the most visited
the Russian-centric model of Moscow galleries: in 2016 it
art venues in the country. It hosts major exhibitions
held a solo exhibition for Spanish artist Raul Diaz Reyes,
such as The Thaw (2017), which presented artworks
and the following year hosted the self-curated group
and cultural artefacts from the 1960s, a crucial
exhibition Code, showcasing prominent Brazilian artists
period of historical and political transformation in
such as Ding Musa, Sandra Cinto and Carlos Nunes.
the Soviet Union.
www.tretyakovgallery.ru/en www.osnovagallery.com
Tel: +7 495 957 0727 Tel: +7 926 887 3987
Krimsky Val st. 10 4th Syromyatnichesky Pereulok 1/6, 105120

Galerie Iragui Triumph Gallery

The most international of Russian contemporary Founded in 2006, Triumph Gallery is perhaps
galleries, founded in 2008 and named after its the most prominent of Russian galleries,
founder Ekaterina Iragui, who trained as a curator housed in a stately house near Red Square and
and gallerist in Paris and is now the most visible showcasing legendary Russian artists such as
Russian presence on the art fair circuit from Vladimir Dubossarsky, Alexander Vinogradov
Artissima to Art Dubai and Art Brussels. The and Alexander Brodsky. The international
gallery represents the heavyweights of Russian programme has included Hirst and the
conceptualism (the generation immediately Chapman brothers, alongside a programme of
prior to current emerging figures), such as Pavel curated exhibitions from different regions (such
Pepperstein and Nikita Alexeev, but it has also as Iran, Romania, Korea, Estonia). Meanwhile,
consistently shown very young Russian artists the gallery has also been very supportive of
in solo and group presentations. More recently, young artists through exhibitions, a research
Iragui has begun to develop alliances with department, publications and off-site projects,
galleries in Europe to help present Russian artists and has exhibited emerging artists such
to an audience wider than just visitors to art fairs. as Tasya Korotkova, Roman Mokrov and
Antonina Baever.
www.iragui.com www.triumph-gallery.ru/en
Tel: +7 495 978 3213 Tel: +7 495 162 0893
7-5 Malaya Polyanka 3/8 Ilynka Street, building 5, 109012

6 7
 >> ART GALLERIES

Regina Gallery National Center

for Contemporary Art
One of the only galleries to have survived from
the eclectic period following the collapse of the The NCCA is a network of state-funded institutions operating
Soviet Union, Regina was founded in 1990 and in most major cities in Russia in the form of a kunsthalle, and
was previously very active on the international art thus by far the largest art institution in the country. Created in
fair circuit. Some of the most prominent names in 1992 and tasked with the promotion of Russian contemporary
Russian contemporary art are represented here, art, the NCCA is also an educational platform, closely connected
including Maria Serebriakova, Oleg Kulik, Pavel with academic institutions and regional museums. In Moscow,
Pepperstein and Victor Alimpiev, among others. the institution plays a key role in providing a platform for curated
Experiencing the transformations of Russia in historical exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, as well
the 1990s and 2000s, the gallery’s programme as creating opportunities for the realisation of non-commercial
has remained consistent and it can be credited exhibitions by established artists and the showcasing of young
with placing a number of Russian names in major talents from Moscow and all the regions. Moscow’s NCCA
international collections. Until 2013, the gallery also recently hosted an exhibition presenting the history of modern
retained a second space in London. and contemporary art in the Ural region.
www.reginagallery.com www.ncca.ru/en/index
Tel: +7 495 228 1330 Tel: +7 499 254 0674
1, 4th Syromyatnichesky pereulov, 105120 Zoologicheskaya Ulitsa 13, building 2, 123242
XL Gallery
The Ekaterina Cultural Foundation
One of the earliest galleries in Moscow in the 1990s,
under the direction of invincible Russian curator Elena This non-profit space was founded in 2002 by
Selina and once part of the international art fair circuit, collectors Ekaterina and Vladimir Semenikhin
today XL fluctuates between being a commercial and has displayed works from their extensive
gallery and a non-profit, staging exhibitions for some holdings of Russian contemporary art. Its activities
very distinguished contemporary artists from Russia have also expanded into the publication of serious
for whom there seems to be little place in the art monographs on the beginnings of the contemporary
market. Exhibitions by figures such as Irina Korina, the art movement in Russia, and the hosting of crucial
ZIP art group, Boris Orlov and Alexander Povzner are exhibitions, including a rather original retrospective
often received with critical acclaim, and Selina herself of galleries that operated in Moscow in the period of
has curated hundreds of exhibitions in Russia, produced the 1990s, right after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
art publications and supported artists in the institutional The Foundation also collaborated with the Centre
sector. A rather prestigious name on Moscow’s art scene, Pompidou (and other institutions and non-profits)
XL often hosts daring and unconventional exhibitions. for the exhibition Kolektsia, which featured Russian
art from 1950–2000 donated to the Pompidou.
www.xlgallery.ru www.ekaterina-fondation.ru/eng
Tel: +7 495 775 8373 Tel: +7 495 621 5522
4th Syromyatnicheskiy Pereulok 1, Ulitsa Kuznetskiy Most 21/5, 107031
building 6, 105120

8 9
 >> MEET THE ARTISTS

Alexandra Paperno
Among Russian painters, Paperno stands out with her combination of the
meticulous and the sublime. From carefully detailed investigations on
Soviet architecture to more poetic projects, tackling the essence of physical
and pictorial space in general, her work is characterised by the internal
contradiction between the intimate places it attempts to recreate and the
analytical distance that this process requires. Born in Moscow in 1978 and
trained at Cooper Union in New York, Paperno is profoundly knowledgeable
about her hometown and yet worlds apart from the prevailing canon
traditionally employed to survey it. In 2016 she presented her Abolished
Constellations in Lower Arkhyz, the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the
Russian Academy of Sciences in the mountains of the north Caucasus.

Arseny Zhilyaev
Perhaps the young Russian contemporary artist best known
to Western curators in recent years, Zhilyaev is an artist-cum-
researcher who examines the legacy of Soviet museological practices
and the philosophy of Russian cosmism. This was an influential
cultural movement that took over the early Soviet imagination and
whose impact on subsequent artistic and scientific movements
cannot be underestimated. Born in 1984 and educated in Russia but
living between Moscow and Venice, Zhilyaev is a frequent speaker at
conferences, constantly questioning the role of art institutions in the
interpretation of aesthetics and history. Most recently, he discussed
his work on cosmism at MoMA, Tate Modern and Princeton.

Irina Korina
Recently exhibited in both the main exhibition of the Venice
Biennale and at Garage Museum of Contemporary Art,
Korina was trained as a stage designer in Moscow, followed
by postgraduate study in Vienna. Her complex installations go
beyond the boundaries of the theatrical, the formal, the aesthetic
and the material, creating almost undecipherable worlds that are
deliberately collapsing and being constructed at the same time.
This grandiose execution and performance quickly dissolves
into ephemeral materials, but is always imbued with a surplus
of energy and time. In 2016 Korina held a solo exhibition,
Humiliated and Elated, at XL Gallery in Moscow, infused with
her signature optimistic irony.

10 11
 >> DESIGN

Sputnik 1985 Sorry I Am Not

Art, design and illustration were closely Much higher-end, but also inspired by
related during the Soviet period, and the rise contemporary art, science fiction and Diktatura Volchok
of fresh post-Soviet brands and designers postmodern visual culture, Sorry I Am Not
bears testimony to this. Sputnik 1985 follows a more ambitious proposal: to turn
At the end of an old fashioned shopping On a monochrome palette of only black and
(among others) has brought back the Soviet casual wear into haute couture, with the
mall near the Danilovsky market, Diktatura white (the symbolic colours of the Russian
typography and plain constructivist designs embroidery of non-traditional materials and
is both a brand and a store, gathering under avant-garde), Volchok is appealing to a darker
that are consistent with the precariousness subversion of what is supposed to be high-
one roof a lot of signature black-and-white counterculture, almost post-punk, inspired by
and disappointment of the post-Soviet era, end – silk is as important as plastic, and vice
post-Soviet design merchandise. You’ll Moscow suburban life and a state of existential
looking at the authoritarian past as a kind of versa. Unique pieces in limited collections
find their own ready-to-wear t-shirts, boredom. Its casual aesthetic, a kind of Russian
archaeology. Very popular among millennials, are crafted locally at an atelier in Moscow,
ubiquitous on the Moscow underground gothic, both trivialises and subverts Russian-
Sputnik 1985 oscillates somewhere between visually far more aggressive than the
circuit, alongside other lesser-known ness, and remains very melancholy. What
dark poetry, Russian conceptualism/ monochrome and aiming at a more traditional
brands such as Yonust (literally translates as had started with the world-famous designer
minimalism and the kind of counterculture runway style. Perhaps unique in the Russian
‘youth’, written in the old Cyrillic alphabet, Gosha Rubchinsky as a kind of high-end
that we find today in Russian hip-hop. The context because of its independence from the
no longer in use), Breathe Out or Heart new fashion has become here commonplace
reintroduction of the Cyrillic script into the high-end fashion and design industry, Sorry
Burn. There’s a more industrial and less and almost banal. The use of Cyrillic returns,
fabric of daily life and ready-to-wear has an I Am Not embodies the idea of being both
elaborate feeling than in the rest of their sometimes even turning to the older alphabet,
almost a ubiquitous presence (opposed to the sophisticated and down-to-earth: you get a
design products, but no less successful. The and symbolisms from earlier radicalisms, are
very pro-Western 1990s) and points towards feeling of this as soon as you walk into their
brand has recently expanded into a new brought into pop form. Simple and affordable,
new identity constructions. central Moscow showroom.
location in Flacon. but also angry and disenchanted.

www.sputnik1985.com www.sorryiamnot.com www.diktaturastore.ru www.volchok.ru

Tel: +7 968 604 1121 Tel: +7 963 929 0161 Tel: +7 999 809 6811 Tel: +7 968 440 6757
Ulitsa Pokrokva 19 Pereulok Stoleshnikov 7, building 3, 125009 Kholodilny Pereulok 3, Roll Hall centre, 115191 Novodimitrovskaya Ulitsa 1c7, 127015

12 13
 >> RESTOS & BISTROS

Beluga Crab Meet

A new addition to the growing restaurant landscape of In the busy Danilovsky market outside central
Moscow and part of the restaurant empire of Alexander Moscow and a relatively recent addition to the
Rappaport, Beluga (named after a type of sturgeon) is a Moscow foodie landscape (and a hipster venue
high-end caviar brasserie catering to different budgets of sorts), Crab Meet is an informal almost fast-
and set in an iconic building overlooking Red Square. food alternative to the usual high-end eateries of
Caviar tastings are available to any pocket between tens Moscow. Nonetheless, it delivers so much from
and hundreds of dollars. Asides from copious amounts seemingly little: basically king crab from Kamchatka
of the famous Russian delicacy, the menu also includes in the far east of Russia, prepared in a variety of
a contemporary take on traditional Russian and Soviet forms from rice to buns to chilli. Originally a famous
cuisine and Siberian sushi in a masterful presentation. crab restaurant tucked away in a small space in the
Perhaps the most luxurious caviar bar in the world. Tverskoy district, it relocated to the market, changed
its name and now regularly appears in pop-ups at
www.national.ru/restaurant-beluga entertainment events throughout the city.
Tel: +7 495 901 0336
Mokhovaya Ulitsa 15/1, building 1, 125009 www.facebook.com/CrabMeet
Tel: +7 499 340 1185
Danilovsky Market, Mitnaya Ulitsa 74, 115191
Grand Cafe Dr Zhivago
Verde Café
Not far from the Beluga and also part of the
Rappaport group, Grand Cafe Dr Zhivago Also tucked away far from Red Square,
(named after the famous British-Italian film set in the Kutuzovsky area and inside
during the Russian Revolution) opened in 2014 a rather labyrinthine complex, the
and is known traditionally as a playground of raw vegan cafe brainchild of Sasha
the Russian elite. Housed in one of the most Kaminer and Anna Desiatova is a
iconic corners of Moscow, across from the surprise even for those familiar with
Kremlin and the Four Seasons, the restaurant the raw vegan style. A complex menu
is also great value for money, with Russian and of hot and cold dishes reimagines the
Soviet food, sourced from the best local farms, world of vegan food in a particularly
served with great largesse in terms of quality sophisticated way, from soups and
and presentation. The menu is so vast and curry to rolls, risotto and noddles,
complex as to require some advice from your and with everything at the affordable
waiter, but this has been consistently ranked end of Moscow’s rather scant healthy
as one of the best restaurants in the country. option venues.
Open 24 hours.

www.drzhivago.ru/en www.verde-cafe.ru
Mokhovaya Ulitsa 15/1, building 1, 125009 Tel: +7 499 350 9644
Tel: +7 499 922 0100 Dom Podbezd 3, Kutuzovsky Ave 36,
building 4, 121170

16 17
 >> CHECK-IN

The St Regis
Moscow Nikolskaya Metropol Hotel Moscow
Another Moscow landmark and in the
Perhaps the most decadent hotel in prestigious quarter of Red Square, the
Moscow, effervescent in luxury and with Metropol has witnessed a turbulent history.
its unique atmosphere of the old Russian Originally an opera house, it was already
aristocracy (despite having opened transformed into a hotel by the 1890s and
rather recently), the St Regis is one of then rebuilt at the turn of the 20th century
the signature Moscow hotels. With its by prominent artists and architects whose
spacious rooms, wood panelling, plaster works still hang on the walls. It became a
cornices, plush sofas and chandeliers (it government residence during the Soviet
was once the residence of a count), it is period, and then reopened as a hotel after
not only lavish in appearance but also 1991. The vaulted painted ceiling of the main
in service and facilities, offering one of dining hall, animated with live music, is home
the city’s most coveted brunches. Only to the city’s most upscale brunch venue, and
a short walk from the main sights of the hotel is only a few steps from the Bolshoi
the city, Red Square, the hotel is also a Theatre and the luxury store Tsum, Russia’s
partner of the local art fair Cosmoscow, answer to Harrods.
held in September just a few blocks away.
www.metropol-moscow.ru/en
www.stregismoscow.com Tel: +7 499 501 7800
Tel: +7 495 967 7776 Teatralny Proyezd 2, 109102
Nikolskaya Street 12, 109102

Four Seasons Hotel Moscow Swissotel Moscow

Formerly a Soviet-era hotel, the Four Seasons is the Slightly removed from Red Square but overlooking
quintessential hotel of Russian contemporary folklore, the majestic Moscow River from the embankment
simultaneously overlooking Red Square, the Kremlin and yet very close to the main arterial roads of the
and the State Duma. Unrivalled in terms of its central city centre, the Swissotel is a more affordable option
location, it’s a strange blend of high-end luxury but still on the luxurious side. In a circular skyscraper
and Stalin-era architecture. The interior has been recognisable from far away, it provides top-notch
reimagined for contemporary taste and function in a facilities (and with a great view and restaurant on
classic modern style and with state-of-the-art facilities. the top), and excellent service, as is usually the case
Never over-decorated and always bustling, the hotel in Moscow’s high-end hotels. More at the corporate
boasts leading politicians walking in and out of the end of the hotel spectrum, it’s a favourite for those
lobby, and legendary Moscow eateries. The views are flying in or out of the second and third city airports,
arguably the best in the entire city, regardless of season. or simply chasing a better price deal.

www.fourseasons.com/moscow www.swissotel.com/hotels/moscow
Tel: +7 499 277 7100 Tel: +7 495 787 9800
Ulitsa Okhotny Ryad 2, 109102 Kosmodamianskaya Naberezhnaya 52, 115054

18 19
 >> AROUND TOWN

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20 21
 >> DON’T LEAVE MOSCOW WITHOUT...

BON VOYAGE
A Walk in Gorky Park
One of the most visited parks
in central Moscow, this vast
tract of land overlooks the
Moscow River and is ideal for a
stroll at any time of year. There
are ponds, amusements and
breathtaking views to enjoy, and
the park also houses the Garage
Museum of Contemporary Art. Across the street you can also
find the New State Tretyakov Gallery and a famous sculpture
park, where discarded statues from the Soviet period have
been relocated. During the summer it is possible to take a boat
Indulging yourself at the
along the river channels from there, while in winter there is an
Sanduny Bath
ice-skating rink. The impressive architectural treasures in and
A true architectural landmark of
around the park are a constant delight.
the city and with lavish rooms
Taking a Selfie in Red Square decorated by the Austrian
An obvious must-stop for visitors architect Boris Freidenberg, this
to Moscow and at the heart of the famous banya opened in the
historical downtown, the iconic 19th century to become perhaps
red buildings of the Kremlin the most iconic and luxurious
make this the most famous bathhouse in the entire country.
place in Russian history and Accommodating both men
perfect for photography. Home and women, it boasts a large
to a number of iconic churches complex of pools, lounge zones,
and historical museums that traditional Russian steam rooms
invariably appear in postcard views, the Square is also fronted by and Jacuzzis, as well as more Moscow
the upscale shopping mall GUM, restaurants and some of the city’s contemporary spa features. The
most legendary hotels. From here you can wander along to the interiors are perfectly well-kept
Bolshoi Theatre, down to Kusnetzky Most or away from the centre and at times it feels more a
Paris
along the river embankment. museum than a bathhouse.

Browsing Danilovsky Market

Constructed under a flying saucer-like structure, this old Soviet farmers’
market is now one of the best destinations for food in Moscow, gathering
some of the city’s most popular ethnic food restaurants (something of a
rarity in Moscow), from Thai, Arabic and Greek to steak houses and crab
from the Far East. But this is not a traditional market; the impact of local
Fly Air France from the Middle East to Paris and
gentrification is hardly discreet, and while some of the best greens in connect to 63 weekly flights direct to Moscow
the city are available here (in a country where greens aren’t particularly
exciting) they come at a price. Also look out for cheeses, meat cuts,
caviar, rare spices and home-made sweets.
www.airfrance.com
22 23
 HERE I AM !
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