Visual Art: Exhibitions, Installations and Projects of Swiss Artists in Russia till the End of 2019
Several exhibits and projects of contemporary Swiss artists are to take place in Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Kazan and Kaliningrad until the end of this year.
Most of the works including the installations of Marianne Muller, Francoise and Daniel Cartier, Alan Bogana, Luc Mattenberger and the performance of Katja Schenker resulted from their research of local art-scene and context, cooperation with Russian artists and communication with general public.
You can find more information about all the projects in our Dossier.
The list of events is constantly updated. Follow our news.
August 29 – November 3. Yekaterinburg. Marianne Mueller’s installation “Complaints and Suggestions” in the Metenkov House
Marianne Mueller works with photography, video, installations and books. In her projects, she accumulates her everyday reality observations and creates site-specific exhibitions. Yekaterinburg is familiar with Marianne through her installation «Hall of Mirrors» at the 3d Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art in 2015.
The project in the Metenkov House “Complaints and Suggestions” unites Marianne Mueller and Dr. Gabrielle Shaad with Konstantin Bugrov, doctor of history from Yekaterinburg. The focus of their collaborative research is constructivists’ legacy of the city. Their primary interest is the analysis of the buildings’ interiors and their combinations with the backstage details in the photo studio of Veniamin Metenkov.
This collaboration will result in two installations: in the residents’ hall and at the museum balcony and special zine publication that will include texts of Gabrielle Schaad and Konstantin Bugrov along with the photos of Marianne Mueller.
September 5 – October 4. Kazan. Exhibition of the F&D Cartier «Wait and See_TASMA»
On September 5, «Smena» opened the exhibition «Wait and See_TASMA» by the Swiss duo F&D Cartier.
Francoise and Daniel Cartier research the capabilities of photography through experiments with time and light as artistic media. Known for their installations made of light sensitive materials, F&D Cartier use photogram technique where the images are created without camera participation.
Abstract monochrome objects presented at the exhibit were created by F&D Cartier during their three-week long residency within the festival of arts and regional studies «Iskra». The project highlights the results of their research at the Kazan factory of photographic materials «Tasma», which has recently stopped the production of its famous photo film. The artists focused on the history of Tasma and interaction with the workers, local photographers and historians. Within the installations the duo used photo- and cine- film, light sensitive materials made by Tasma, and technique of the Soviet photo labs.
The exhibit will last until October 4.
September 12 – December 1. Yekaterinburg. Luc Mattenberger and Katja Schenker at the 5th Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art
The 5th Ural Industrial Biennale is underway in Ekaterinburg on September 12-December 11 at the two new venues, the Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant and the «Colosseum» movie theatre. This is an international art project aimed at the large-scale interaction of the contemporary art and industrial spaces. This year’s theme is «Immortality». The curator of the biennale is Xiaoyu Weng, curator at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Swiss artists Katja Schenker and Luc Mattenberger created their works within the biennale art residencies. They are on display at the exhibit spaces of the biennale main project in Yekaterinburg from September 12.
12-day long residency of Luc Mattenberger took place in Orenburg region in the city of Novotroitsk at the «Ural Steel» plant. This is where Luc explored the influence of the environment on the brain processes, the theme, which fascinated him for a while. Artist decided to recreate human thought in metal, thus, marking its immortality.
He recorded an encephalogram of his brain during the meditation, chose the segments of the recording and created the model of the sculpture (see photo). The model will be present at the venue of the Main Biennale project while the steelworkers will make the actual sculpture at the factory.
Another participant of the residency program is the Swiss artist, performer and sculptor Katja Schenker. She went to the town of Satka to explore the Karagay Quarry, which is the magnesite mining site. This substrate attracted the artist as an organic matter that becomes valuable under the influence of time and external agents. To sum up the residency, the artist made a performance dedicated to the power of human and his interaction with nature.
September 23 – November 3. Moscow. «Verticals – Horizontals: Richard Paul Lohse – Vladimir Andreenkov»
Schusev State Museum of Architecture presents an exhibition «Verticals – Horizontals: Richard Paul Lohse – Vladimir Andreenkov». The project marks the 45th anniversary of the meeting between Richard Paul Lohse, Swiss artist and representative of the concrete movement in abstract painting and Vladimir Andreenkov, Soviet non-conformist.
The touch point for the two artists is the series of works entitled «Horizontals» and «Verticals» created by them in 1970s in Switzerland and the USSR. The first Lohse’s encounter with the works of Andreenkov took place in Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zürich. Later in 1974, the artists met in person in Moscow. Thanks to their common understanding of arts they became friends. Due to the number of the political, economic and linguistic barriers they never had a chance to properly enjoy personal communications. The exhibition in Moscow gives an opportunity to «continue» and interpret this dialogue with the help of the artists’ works.
October 11—November 10. Kaliningrad. Videocity Basel—Kaliningrad
On October 11, Kaliningrad Museum of Fine Arts is opening Videocity Basel—Kaliningrad, a show exploring the history of Swiss video art.
Exhibition features works by Basel-based artists, dated from the birth of Swiss video art in late 1970s to the present day. Topics range from mythology and criticism of contemporary media to recording an artist’s daily life, while shooting locations stretch from apartments in Basel to Luxor in Egypt.
In addition to the show, curator and art historian Andrea Domesle, together with artists Axel Töpfer, Birgit Krueger, and Eric Schmutz, designed a two-day public program offering discussions and co-creation sessions. Plus, Basel citizens will get to meet artists from Kaliningrad to talk about their videos and portfolios. More
November 3—December 8. Kazan. Alan Bogana’s Show Phlogistronic Dandelions
On November 3, Swiss artist Alan Bogana’s solo show Phlogistronic Dandelions opens at Smena Center of Contemporary Culture in Kazan.
Bogana works with kinetic sculpture, computer graphics, and optics. He studies the history of early experimental science and reflects its aesthetics and methods in the design of his installations.
The exhibition in Smena Center will feature artist’s existing works alongside new installations, created as a result of Bogana’s last year’s research residence and his work with the archive materials of Kazan-based Research Institute ‘Prometey.’ More
December 17, 2019—February 16, 2020. Yekaterinburg. Exhibition Image Modes: Contemporary Swiss Photobook
The Metenkov House Museum in Yekaterinburg presents Image Modes: Contemporary Swiss Photo Book exhibition. The show is centered around 20 photo books, which came out as part of Pro Helvetia support program for publishing photo books by Swiss authors. Different in content and form, they reveal a variety of approaches contemporary Swiss artists apply to photography: as a document, a research tool, an archive, an object, a resource, and a way of conceptualizing ideas.
From December 3 to 19, to support the preparation for the opening of Image Modes: Contemporary Swiss Photo Book show, a series of public events take place. Artist and photographer, new resident of the Metenkov House Museum, Augustin Rebetez takes part in the educational program. Augustin spends three weeks in Yekaterinburg; he plans to involve dancers, photographers, sculptors, and students from Ural Region in his project.
Follow all the events with Rebetez on the Metenkov House Museum website.
On photo: Francoise and Daniel Cartier at the Opening of the «Wait and see_TASMA» exhibition (с)
