The Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art is one of the most important Russian cultural events and was founded in 2003.

First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

The First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (January 28 – February 28, 2005) caused great response both in Russia and abroad. The main exhibition “Dialectics of Hope” included projects by 41 artists from 22 countries and represented art that focuses on one of the most fundamental experiences of a modern human being: hope. The main project was realised at the former Lenin Museum, near the

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical bui ...

. The Biennale's special projects and parallel program numbered over 50 exhibitions of Russian actual art as well as European, American and Asian visual artists. Curators (main project):

Joseph Backstein Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

Daniel Birnbaum Daniel Birnbaum is a Swedish art curator and an art critic. Since 2019, he has been director and curator of Acute Art in London, UK. Education Birnbaum studied at Stockholm University, Freie Universität Berlin in Germany and Columbia Univers ...

, Iara Boubnova,

Nicolas Bourriaud Nicolas Bourriaud (born 1965) is a curator and art critic, who has curated a great number of exhibitions and biennials all over the world. With Jérôme Sans, Bourriaud cofounded the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where he served as codirector from 1 ...

, Rosa Martinez and Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

The main project of the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (March 1 – April 1, 2007) titled “FOOTNOTES on Geopolitics, Market and Amnesia” showed works of 115 artists from 20 countries. Different

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

s and curatorial teams realized 5 exhibitions of the main project united by one theme. The project featured the exhibitions organized at various venues including The State

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

Moscow Contemporary Art Center Winzavod Winzavod (russian: Винзавод; ''Vinzavod'', literally winery) is a centre for contemporary arts in Moscow, Russia. Opened in 2007, it is located in a complex of seven industrial buildings from the late 19th century including the former brew ...

Moscow Museum of Modern Art The Moscow Museum of Modern Art is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in Moscow, Russia. It was opened to public in December 1999. The project of the museum was initiated and executed by Zurab Tsereteli, president of the Russian Ac ...

. Exhibitions of the main project: * Nothing but Footnotes? Art in the Epoch of Social Darwinism, Moscow-City, Federation Tower.

Curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. * USA: American video art at the beginning of the 3rd Millennium, Shopping centre TsUM.

s: Daniel Birnbaum, Gunnar B. Kvaran, Hans Ulrich Obrist. * History in present tense. Moscow-City, Federation Tower.

: Iara Boubnova. * Stock Zero, Or The Icy Water Of Egoistical Calculation, Moscow-City, Federation Tower.

. * After all. Moscow-City, Federation Tower, State Schusev Museum of Architecture.

s: Fulya Erdemci and Rosa Martinez.

Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

The commissioner of the Biennale was

. The exhibition program of the Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (September 24 - November 1, 2009) featured main project "Against exclusion" and more than 39 special projects and 7 special guests shows.

Main project "Against exclusion"

The main project of Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art entitled "Against exclusion" (curator

Jean-Hubert Martin Jean-Hubert Martin () born on June 3, 1944 in Strasbourg, France, is a leading art historian, institution director, and curator of international exhibitions. Through his professional career, he contributed to expand what is considered as contempor ...

, best known for his exhibition "Magiciens de la terre" at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, 1989) was held at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture (now known as Garage Museum of Contemporary Art) and was presenting artists from Russia,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, United States,

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. French curator

mixed the work of well-known contemporary western artists with non-western and non-professional artists. He was assisted by Exhibition Designer and Dutch Curator Mattijs Visser and French Curator

Oliver Varenne Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver, ...

. .

Special guests shows

The Special Guest program represent personal exhibitions of the important figures of the modern art scene. *

Olga Chernysheva Olga Chernysheva (born 1962 in Moscow, Russia) is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Moscow. Her work spans film, photography, drawing and object-based mediums, where she draws on quotidian moments and marginal spaces from everyday life ...

, Russia. "Present - Past", Baibakov Art Projects, Red October (former chocolate factory) *

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the '' Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. "Domain Field", The

Garage Center for Contemporary Culture The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, also referred to simply as ''The Garage Museum'', is a privately funded art gallery in Moscow. It was founded by Dasha Zhukova and Roman Abramovich as the ''Garage Center for Contemporary Culture'' in 2008 an ...

(July 16 – September 2, 2009) * Michail Grobman, Israel. "The Metamorphoses of Collage",

Bertrand Lavier Bertrand Lavier (born 1949 in Châtillon-sur-Seine, France) is a French conceptual artist, painter and sculptor, belonging to the post- readymade era, inspired by the Duchampian legacy and the Nouveau réalisme, the artistic movement created by the ...

, France. AFTERMOON *

Atelier Van Lieshout Joep van Lieshout (born 1963), is a Dutch artist and sculptor born in Ravenstein, Netherlands, and founder of Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL). Life and work Van Lieshout received his formal education and training from the Academy of Modern Art in ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. "Slave City",

Moscow Contemporary Art Center WINZAVOD Winzavod (russian: Винзавод; ''Vinzavod'', literally winery) is a centre for contemporary arts in Moscow, Russia. Opened in 2007, it is located in a complex of seven industrial buildings from the late 19th century including the former brew ...

Vladimir Tarasov Vladimir Ilich Tarasov (russian: Владимир Ильич Тарасов; born 7 February 1939 in Moscow) is a Russian animator and animation director. He is best known for his Soviet-era science fiction short films, such as ''The Pass, Co ...

, Russia. "Sound Games", Multimedia Art Museum *

Luc Tuymans Luc Tuymans (born 14 June 1958) is a Belgian visual artist best known for his paintings which explore people's relationship with history and confront their ability to ignore it. World War II is a recurring theme in his work. He is a key figure ...

, Belgium. "Against the Day", Baibakov Art Projects, Red October (former chocolate factory)

Special projects

Parallel program

There was also a parallel program of exhibitions at Triumph Gallery, Winzavod, Zverev Center of Contemporary Art,

, The Lumiere Brothers Photogallery, The State Literary Museum, One Spectator's Gallery, Praktika Theater, Pop/off/art Gallery, Regina Gallery, RuArts Gallery, State Museum of Alexander Pushkin, Design center ARTPLAY, State Museum of Contemporary Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts, The State Literary Museum, Fine Art Gallery, Kino Gallery, Instituto Cervantes de Moscu, Open Gallery, Vostochnaya gallery, The State Literary Museum, Aidan Gallery, Proekt Fabrika, Ravenscourt Galleries, Russian Academy of Arts, Red October, Petr Vois Gallery, Photographer.ru, Moscow Zoo (Exhibition Hall), State Tretyakov Gallery, VP Studio, Kovcheg Gallery, State Museum of Contemporary Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts, ARTPLAY, Schusev State Museum of Architecture, Elena Vrublevskaya Gallery, National Centre for Contemporary Arts, XL Gallery, GP, Arka Gallery (ЦЕХ V), Pobeda Gallery, Krokin Gallery, L-gallery, and M&J Guelman Gallery.

Fourth Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

The curator of the Fourth Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art will be

Peter Weibel Peter Weibel (; born 5 March 1944 in Odessa, USSR) is an internationally known Austrian post-conceptual artist, curator and new media theoretician. He started out in 1964 as a visual poet but soon jumped from the page to the screen within the se ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

, theorist of media arts and director of the Center of Art and Media Technology (ZKM) in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...

(Germany). Fourth Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art will take place in September–October 2011. Commissioner and the artistic director of the Biennale will be

External links

Neue Review, "The First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (Exhib. Review)"

Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

Fourth Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

Frieze Magazine, "3rd Moscow Biennale"

Art Margins, "The 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (Exhib. Review)"

Artupdate, 'List of participating artists in 5th Moscow Biennale announced Summer 2013'
{{List of Biennales Russian art Art biennials Recurring events established in 1995