2.0

Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow and Novatek Company present an exhibition project, made of three parts. It will be displayed in Kostroma, Chelyabinsk and Novy Urengoy.

The exhibition is initiated by NOVATEK Company, which provides long-term sup-port for contemporary art. The company has suggested to organize the 2.0 project to its 20th anniversary. The project is to show the development of Russian art in the 1990s-2000s, when the Russian society and culture underwent rapid changes. These two decades of Russian history are eventful, and the exhibition concept is to emphasize the contrast. The exhibition includes selected artworks of artists from collections of two largest museums of contemporary art.

Artworks, selected for the exhibition, give the idea of the current history of Russia, its new historical, cultural and social role in interpretation of Russian artists, who research the topic in the context of the last decades.

The 1990s were an epoch of intense social changes, which were painful and demanded the immediate comprehension. But today, after many years, the new social reality appeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union leaves many questions and remains a reason for artistic searches.

The section of the 1990s contains works by Ilya Korobkov and Dmitry Bulnygin, who present the Soviet solidarity as an idealized, but irretrievably lost utopia. There are also objects by Vladimir Arkhipov, an author of the Museum of Hand Made Household Items. This constantly evolving project gives new reasons for analysis and reflection on folk material culture of Russia. This section also presents photos, devoted to Moscow of the 1990s, by Igor Mukhin, one of the most vivid photographers. In contrast with the 1990s, the 2000s were remarkable for active introduction of the virtual reality in our life, which was first of all connected with development of digital technologies, social networking and their accessibility. The section includes works by artists, who deal with new media, i.e. the Electroboutique group (Aristarkh Chernyshev and Alexei Shulgin), Nik Degtyarev, Dmitry Bulnygin, Marina Alexeeva, Mikhail Kosolapov and others. There will be presented main works by the Electroboutique group, exposing the topic of economic changes, occurred in the country during the last decades. Among the works there is Commercial Protest (2007, installation), 3G International (2011, object).

The exhibition combines works, created in different techniques, by recognized and young Russian artists. There are photos, objects, videos, installations. In Chelyabinsk the exhibition will be added with works by artists of different epochs. Among them there is the Sinie Nosy group (Vyacheslav Mizin and Alexander Shaburov), Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe, Rostan Tavasiev and the Elikuka group.

To continue their educational activities in the regions, NOVATEK Company and the museums will present their collections in cooperation with Kostroma State Historical Architectural Art Museum, Chelyabinsk State Museum of Fine Arts and Novy Urengoy City Museum of Fine Arts. It will provide mutual experience and assist the growing interest in contemporary art in the country.