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I am in Moscow with a Tate group who are my new companions for the next few days. I was in very good company, a great group.
First stop Stella Art Foundation where Vadim Sakharov presents to us his new project for the Venice Biennale.
The Kremlin was a lot of fun, as well as seeing the treasures of the world we all experienced the cold Moscow air and observed all sorts of feasts for the eyes.
Handsome soldiers parading past us as though they are all dressed for a Vogue shoot.
The white church with so many bell towers looking like a wedding cake. Alas they did not ring them for us.
Some of the disgruntled freezing cold Tate crew huddled around Mark Godfrey and Luisa Strina leading the way.
Our Tate International Chairman Maja Hoffman and myself, freezing and frozen, but happy.
The Kandinsky prize was a highlight for me. Maybe much to be criticized by the international art world but at least there was vitality and life and also a great deal of fun in the art works.
The Art was Alive!!! Well I am not quite sure about the work of Dmitry Tsvetkov, this fellow looked quite dead to me.
I liked the work that looked like shoes during the call to pryer by Aladdin Garunov. Even if I did not have much time to grasp the work it looked very interesting.
Grisha Bruskin won the work with 100 painted bronze sculptures. A most entertaining work I felt.
I have no idea why these feet were hanging in Dmitry Gutov’s work, I have to emphasise again we did not have enough time to investigate.
Maya and Nicholas Cullinan were taking a quick break as the time difference is four hours so and eight thirty start in GMT is 4.30am!
Then surprise of all surprises was Dasha Zhukova’s Iris Foundation in Gorky Park, Moscow. I was not expecting such an ambitious project. We were all met by Anton Belov who must be a breath of fresh air for Moscow. He and his team are creating a very serious attempt of introducing Contemporary Art to Russia in a permanent form. There had been previously the Garage which had been very successful but perhaps just a temporary taster of things to come. The temporary structure by Shigeru Ban which will survive probably only a few years is almost the size of the Turbine Hall.
Within that structure was an impressive lounge (very BA). Everything had the look of the temporary but had been built to withstand the harsh winters of Moscow.
.Inside was a display showing the old pavilions built in 1923. This black and white photograph shows the machinery section where all the innovative machines of the period were exhibited.
On almost the same spot 90 years later Anton Belov describes to Mark Godfrey how it may look in five year.
For another building Rem Koolhaas has been commissioned to wrap himself inside and out of the old building which is now a modern ruin. Then it was goodbye to everyone at the Iris Foundation and a hop back to London.
