Program of special events marking the 10th anniversary of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art December 14, 2009 – May 16, 2010. Three large-scale exhibitions, master-classes, and round tables

December 14, 4pm (25 Petrovka Street)
Press conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Museum and the start of special events program

Speakers:

• Zurab Tsereteli, director of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art
• Vasili Tsereteli, executive director of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art
• Andrei Tolstoy, head of Research Department of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art
• Yuri Avvakumov, curator of «Doors Open Day» project
• Zelfira Tregulova, curator of the exhibition «Socialist Realism: Inventory of an Archive»
• Alexander Sysoenko, deputy director of ROSIZO // Victoria Zubravskaya, head of exhibitions department of ROSIZO
• Elena Selina, curator of «Moscow Contemporary» program

December 15, 7pm. Moscow Museum of Modern Art, 25 Petrovka Street. Anniversary Day Opening of the main event of the special program: Doors open day: a mansion — a gymnasium — a clinic — a museum Russian art, 1989-2009, from the Museum collection

Project realized by the Museum and Yuri Avvakumov.
The new display on all three floors of the building at 25 Petrovka Street unites more than 200 works by leading Russian artists from the Museum collection. These works, executed in the last 20 years (1989-2009), reflect the broad diversity of new conceptual treatments and means of expression, including some cutting-edge technologies. The main character of this project is the very building of the Museum – a mansion in the historic centre of Moscow that has seen frequent change of times and fates. The past always leaves a trace and interferes in the life of subsequent generations; our goal is to show how this could happen, and to render these imaginary layers transparent. The spaces that were once chambers of a mansion, classrooms or hospital wards, and have now become halls of the museum, flow free one into another. The doors have been taken off the hinges; they are no longer obstacles and thus symbolize the absolute openness of the current artistic process. Many works displayed here are exhibited for the first time within the walls of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.

December 16, 7pm. State Museum of Modern Art of the Russian Academy of Arts, 10 Gogolevsky Boulevard Opening of the exhibition: Socialist Realism: Inventory of an Archive Art of the 1930s – 1940s from the collection of ROSIZO. Marking 50 years of existence of the State Museum and Exhibition Center “ROSIZO”

Curator of the project – Zelfira Tregulova
For the first time in Moscow, this exhibition presents a unique collection of Soviet art of the 1930s – 1940s that is now conserved in the holdings of ROSIZO. The history of this collection goes in line with the history of the country and the change of political regimes. The works on view demonstrate how ideology-driven was the authorities’ approach to art and creative production, even in the years of the Thaw. The works seem to tell us that life depicted in them is not a “radiant way” but rather a hard existence devoid of light, joy, or hope. These pictures represent scenes of workers’ meetings and discussions, labor at a plant or a carpet factory, in a foundry or a grocery store.

This evening, the museum at Gogolevsky Boulevard hosts two more exhibitions with works from ROSIZO collections:

Curator of the program – Elena Selina
Konstantin Zvezdochetov is one of leading artists on contemporary Russian art scene. He is among the brightest figures of flat exhibitions in APTART Gallery, which was the center of unofficial art of the 80s; he is leader of the “new wave” and an active member of “Mukhomory” (Toadstools) group that was one of the key phenomena of the Russian underground of the 80s; he is a “playing coach” of “World Champions” group of the early 90s. He is practically the only one of all members of both groups who hasn’t abandoned creation even in the harshest years of contemporary art. The most active exhibition participant in Moscow, Konstantin Zvezdochetov has never had a real retrospective in the capital. “Given Up” project organized by XL gallery in collaboration with the Moscow Museum of Modern Art as a part of “Moscow Contemporarty” program is intended to fill in this gap.

December 2009 – May 2010

Series of lectures, master-classes and discussion panels
Well-known artists, critics, art historians and curators are invited to participate

• December 18, 15.00 (25 Petrovka Street) — discussion panel «Museum space and contemporary art. Opportunities, conflicts, and new findings. Genius loci». Moderator — Andrey Tolstoy.
• December 21, 18.00 (17 Ermolaevsky Lane) — master-class by Konstantin Zvezdochetov.
• December 22, 17.30 (25 Petrovka Street) — discussion panel «Russian contemporary art. Point of departure?..» Moderator — Andrey Tolstoy (special guest — Pierre Brochet.

We’ll be happy to celebrate our Birthday in Your company!