“Garage Triennial of Contemporary Art”
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Krimsky Val, 9с32, Moscow, Russia
March 10- May 14, 2017
The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art will hold the first recurring exhibition called “Garage Triennial of Contemporary Art,” from March 10–May 14, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. Lead by Garage Chief Curator, Kate Fowle, the triennial is dedicated to Russian art from the last five years (2012–2016). A concurrent exhibition of primary material sourced from Garage Archive will provide a historical counterpart to the Triennial.
Russia is not well-known for contemporary art but in recent years, international biennials have introduced Russian artists to audiences. Garage Triennial aims to introduce Russian contemporary art to the world stage. Just as the Revolution encouraged Russia’s first Avant Garde, Garage is looking to spur the next. Launching on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Garage aims to make a progressive statement on the fresh perspective of the new generation’s social and cultural tendencies.
The exhibition explores the complicated matter of national and cultural identity, which stretches from mega-cities to small towns, the shores of the Black Sea to the Pacific coast, and Siberia to the Caucasus. By focusing exclusively on artists within the Russian Federation, the Garage Triennial represents the massive geographic range of Russia through its cultural variety. Each of the artists featured belong to one of 200 nationalities that inhabit the Russian Federation and speak one of the 100 languages registered within the territory; however they are all a representation of Russian culture. The 2017 Garage Triennial will be the first time this vast artistic landscape has been surveyed and presented to the public.
Leading up to the Triennial, Garage curators have visited local institutions and individuals in more than 40 Russian cities, not only selecting artists for the exhibition, but documenting the local communities for Garage Archive. Research is taking place across the country’s nine regions: the Central, South, North West, Far East, Siberia, Urals, Volga, North Caucasus, and Crimea Federal Districts. It will constitute an atlas of the country’s contemporary art community, featuring descriptions of regional institutions, as well as biographical information on the country’s artists.