Garage Museum of Contemporary Art archive

Acquired from the artist

Acquired from Alexey Veselovsky

Tatiana Efrussi is an artist and researcher who graduated from Rodchenko Art School (Moscow) and the Académie des Beaux‑Arts (Paris) and has a doctorate in architectural history from the University of Kassel. In her practice she employs historical narratives and the theme of memory, analyzing the past and its place in the present. Working at the intersection of the artistic and the documentary, fiction and reality, Efrussi reconsiders the experience of various communities and the fates of her characters using a range of media, from performance, video, and installation to painting. Her attention is focused on researching various narrative means and their roles in constructing history.

In 2020, the artist created a ten‑page album made from pieces of Belle France plastic bags. On each spread there is an ideally retouched image of food products on one page and acrylic drawings of weeds (mauvaises herbes) that grow in the Île‑de‑France region on the other. With this ironic contrast between the sterile symbolism of “Beautiful France” and the chaotic, undesirable nature of “ugly weeds,” Efrussi explores the determinism of society, mechanisms of segregation, and the boundaries of social equality.

Tatiana Efrussi is an artist and researcher who graduated from Rodchenko Art School (Moscow) and the Académie des Beaux‑Arts (Paris) and has a doctorate in architectural history from the University of Kassel. In her practice she employs historical narratives and the theme of memory, analyzing the past and its place in the present. Working at the intersection of the artistic and the documentary, fiction and reality, Efrussi reconsiders the experience of various communities and the fates of her characters using a range of media, from performance, video, and installation to painting. Her attention is focused on researching various narrative means and their roles in constructing history.

In 2020, the artist created a ten‑page album made from pieces of Belle France plastic bags. On each spread there is an ideally retouched image of food products on one page and acrylic drawings of weeds (mauvaises herbes) that grow in the Île‑de‑France region on the other. With this ironic contrast between the sterile symbolism of “Beautiful France” and the chaotic, undesirable nature of “ugly weeds,” Efrussi explores the determinism of society, mechanisms of segregation, and the boundaries of social equality.

Mauvaises herbes

According to the artist this book is based on observations of the movements and forms of clouds. The sketches and texts describe the diversity of the sky and also the feelings and reflections of the artist. As Marakulina notes, “Clouds are a universal educational substance, visual information that can be perceived differently depending on the condition of the observer. Cloud Student is a notebook of observations or a textbook written by a student.” 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.

 According to the artist this book is based on observations of the movements and forms of clouds. The sketches and texts describe the diversity of the sky and also the feelings and reflections of the artist. As Marakulina notes, “Clouds are a universal educational substance, visual information that can be perceived differently depending on the condition of the observer. Cloud Student is a notebook of observations or a textbook written by a student.” 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy. 

Cloud Student

The book contains drawings by Andrey Dmitrenko which are interspersed with the text: “I wrap you all in the hypnotic scent of a flower that bloomed on these sheets of paper.” Envelopes with seeds are glued into the book, a metaphorical promise that if it has to go through catastrophes and destruction “grass will sprout.” 

 The book uses paper, vintage paper, tracing paper with the artist’s photographs printed on it, artificial leather, colored varnish, pigment printing, and flower seeds. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.

 The book contains drawings by Andrey Dmitrenko which are interspersed with the text: “I wrap you all in the hypnotic scent of a flower that bloomed on these sheets of paper.” Envelopes with seeds are glued into the book, a metaphorical promise that if it has to go through catastrophes and destruction “grass will sprout.” 

 The book uses paper, vintage paper, tracing paper with the artist’s photographs printed on it, artificial leather, colored varnish, pigment printing, and flower seeds. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy. 

I Will Sprout Grass Through These Sheets of Paper

Artist Lera Lerner collected 23 stories of real people who she met on the street and who come from marginalized social groups but are involved with creative practices that Lerner considers make them artists. The story of each person is presented as a small book or artifact reflecting the essence of their creative practice. The stories are “put away” in pockets that are sewn onto a real shirt, which makes the book like a (literal) found archive of street art. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.

 Artist Lera Lerner collected 23 stories of real people who she met on the street and who come from marginalized social groups but are involved with creative practices that Lerner considers make them artists. The story of each person is presented as a small book or artifact reflecting the essence of their creative practice. The stories are “put away” in pockets that are sewn onto a real shirt, which makes the book like a (literal) found archive of street art. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy. 

City of Displaced Persons

From the early 1970s Nikita Alexeev, one of the key artists of Moscow Conceptualism, created drawing series, artist’s books, and comic albums, investigating the interaction between text and image. His ABC Your first book, published on the initiative of printing studio Piranesi LAB, continues this tradition by combining intellectual play and artistic experiment.

The publication is a set of separate, screenprinted pages, on each of which are depicted two objects that begin with the same letter of the English alphabet. The preface by Nikita Alexeev and Irina Gorlova is included separately. Five books of the edition of 35 were hand colored by the artist. The other 30 books each contain two randomly selected colored pages that are not repeated in the others. Alexeev suggests that future owners color the rest of the letters.

Inspired by Alexandre Benois’ Alphabet in Pictures (1904), Alexeev creates his version of absurd, unexpected “surrealist pairs” that contrast in terms of scale and meaning. This is not simply an alphabet book but a hedonistic game of associations in which the sun that migrates from page to page is an immutable leitmotif.

From the early 1970s Nikita Alexeev, one of the key artists of Moscow Conceptualism, created drawing series, artist’s books, and comic albums, investigating the interaction between text and image. His ABC Your first book, published on the initiative of printing studio Piranesi LAB, continues this tradition by combining intellectual play and artistic experiment.

The publication is a set of separate, screenprinted pages, on each of which are depicted two objects that begin with the same letter of the English alphabet. The preface by Nikita Alexeev and Irina Gorlova is included separately. Five books of the edition of 35 were hand colored by the artist. The other 30 books each contain two randomly selected colored pages that are not repeated in the others. Alexeev suggests that future owners color the rest of the letters.

Inspired by Alexandre Benois’ Alphabet in Pictures (1904), Alexeev creates his version of absurd, unexpected “surrealist pairs” that contrast in terms of scale and meaning. This is not simply an alphabet book but a hedonistic game of associations in which the sun that migrates from page to page is an immutable leitmotif.

Your first book

This 26-meter‑long scroll comprises an uninterrupted abstract drawing of interwoven lines symbolizing the movement of time and history and also social movements associated with the countries of Southeast Asia in the second half of the twentieth century, which is the subject of many of Novikov’s projects. 

 The scroll is made on rice and bamboo paper using Chinese ink and Japanese acrylic and is kept in a handmade tube. The publication also includes several A4 sheets imitating bureaucratic documents written in an imaginary language. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.

 This 26-meter‑long scroll comprises an uninterrupted abstract drawing of interwoven lines symbolizing the movement of time and history and also social movements associated with the countries of Southeast Asia in the second half of the twentieth century, which is the subject of many of Novikov’s projects. 

 The scroll is made on rice and bamboo paper using Chinese ink and Japanese acrylic and is kept in a handmade tube. The publication also includes several A4 sheets imitating bureaucratic documents written in an imaginary language. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy. 

Weapons of the Weak

Kristina Pashkova explores the complex interactions between ancient crafts, such as weaving and embroidery, and advanced computer technologies. In her practice handwork and cybervisuality intertwine, creating a space for reexamining the role of art in the digital era. Untitled is an experiment in the “materialization” of digital culture. The fabric pages are embroidered and printed with hyperlinks to a range of sources: philosophical texts, Wikipedia, social media, weather forecasts, recipes. However, the hyperlinks cannot be used. The embroidery turns them into a chaotic, endless pattern that completely neutralizes their utilitarian communicative function, leaving only a graphic and decorative shell. 

 This project is a consideration of the nature of information, its accessibility and ephemerality. The artist investigates the mechanisms of passing on information, transforming familiar digital markers into an alogical and absurd physical format in which technologies and the archaic collide paradoxically, creating a destructive artistic statement devoid of functionality and meaning.

 Kristina Pashkova explores the complex interactions between ancient crafts, such as weaving and embroidery, and advanced computer technologies. In her practice handwork and cybervisuality intertwine, creating a space for reexamining the role of art in the digital era. Untitled is an experiment in the “materialization” of digital culture. The fabric pages are embroidered and printed with hyperlinks to a range of sources: philosophical texts, Wikipedia, social media, weather forecasts, recipes. However, the hyperlinks cannot be used. The embroidery turns them into a chaotic, endless pattern that completely neutralizes their utilitarian communicative function, leaving only a graphic and decorative shell. 

 This project is a consideration of the nature of information, its accessibility and ephemerality. The artist investigates the mechanisms of passing on information, transforming familiar digital markers into an alogical and absurd physical format in which technologies and the archaic collide paradoxically, creating a destructive artistic statement devoid of functionality and meaning. 

Untitled

Pavla Markova works with the themes of vitality and mortality, ironically exploring the delicate balance of power in nature. The book Der Erlkönig references Goethe’s eponymous poem, a tragic ballad about a terrible meeting between a father and son and a mystical being. Markov examines the nature of dreams and delirium, death and primeval terror, using the dark esthetic of expressionism. The illustrations in the book are generated by a neural network based on the artist’s drawings and photographs. The black‑and‑white palette and tense, sometimes deliberately casual way of making create the irrational sense of a nightmare. Some of the compositions are reminiscent of oval portraits on gravestones and others of otherworldly, mystical totems. As in Goethe’s poem, the book is constructed around a growing anxiety. Here there are juxtaposed images of lost souls, buried memories, and an unstable world where fear and humor coexist at the edge of worlds.

 Pavla Markova works with the themes of vitality and mortality, ironically exploring the delicate balance of power in nature. The book Der Erlkönig references Goethe’s eponymous poem, a tragic ballad about a terrible meeting between a father and son and a mystical being. Markov examines the nature of dreams and delirium, death and primeval terror, using the dark esthetic of expressionism. The illustrations in the book are generated by a neural network based on the artist’s drawings and photographs. The black‑and‑white palette and tense, sometimes deliberately casual way of making create the irrational sense of a nightmare. Some of the compositions are reminiscent of oval portraits on gravestones and others of otherworldly, mystical totems. As in Goethe’s poem, the book is constructed around a growing anxiety. Here there are juxtaposed images of lost souls, buried memories, and an unstable world where fear and humor coexist at the edge of worlds. 

Der Erlkönig

The book was a result of the artist’s idea to create sculptures from stars that have shed their outer layers and to give planetary nebulae a form reminiscent of a hare’s silhouette (a nice‑looking animal that is recognisable even from afar). This enterprise does not contradict the laws of physics, but it cannot be achieved at the current stage of technological development. 

 The book is based on a series of drawings and paintings by Rostan Tavasiev made in 2020 and 2021. They are reproduced in  the Catalogue of Art Projects using digital printing and are adjacent to scientific descriptions of nebulae could be created based on existing binary star systems. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.

 The book was a result of the artist’s idea to create sculptures from stars that have shed their outer layers and to give planetary nebulae a form reminiscent of a hare’s silhouette (a nice‑looking animal that is recognisable even from afar). This enterprise does not contradict the laws of physics, but it cannot be achieved at the current stage of technological development. 

 The book is based on a series of drawings and paintings by Rostan Tavasiev made in 2020 and 2021. They are reproduced in  the Catalogue of Art Projects  using digital printing and are adjacent to scientific descriptions of nebulae could be created based on existing binary star systems. 

 The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy. 

Catalogue of Art Projects in Outer Space. Planetary Nebulae

1. Открытый доступ

Мастер

Ivan Novikov was born in Moscow. He graduated in easel painting from Moscow State Surikov Academy of Fine Arts and from the program Contemporary Art and Criticism at BAZA Institute (Moscow). He also has a Master’s degree from Manchester University (UK). Since 2015 he has been a member if the editorial board of Moscow Art Magazine. He is the co‑founder of the independent space Krasny Center (Moscow). He has had solo exhibitions at Moscow Museum of Modern Art, pop/off/art Gallery (Moscow), Zarya Center for Contemporary Art (Vladivostok), and other venues.

Novikov Ivan

Asya Marakulina was born in Perm. She graduated from Professional Lycee No. 1 as a computer graphics artist (Perm, 2006), the Faculty of Arts of St. Petersburg State University as an animation artist (2015), and studied at the PRO ARTE Foundation’s Young Artists’ School (St. Petersburg, 2015). She has taken part in group exhibitions, including Not a Museum. Laboratory of Aesthetic Suspicions (Novaya Industriya Art Space, St. Petersburg, 2014), Form of the Invisible (PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art, Perm, 2015; Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2016), Prospekt Nepokorennykh (Moscow Museum of Modern Art), 2017), and the 2nd Garage Triennial of Contemporary Russian Art (Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2020). She is the recipient of the Credit Suisse and Cosmoscow Prize for Young Artists (2018) and a special prize of the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award (2019). She is a member of the association of Viennese artists IG Bildende Kunst.

Marakulina Asya

Nikita Alexeev was born in Moscow. From 1964 to 1967, he studied at Moscow Middle Art School of the Moscow Surikov State Art Institute and then at 1905 Moscow State Academic Art College in the Department of Industrial Graphics and Advertising. From 1973 to 1976, he studied at Moscow Printing Institute in the Faculty of Artistic and Technical Design of Print Products (he did not graduate). From 1976 to 1983, he was a member of the group Collective Actions. He took part in the Biennale of Dissent (Venice, 1977). He was one of the organizers of MANI (Moscow Archive of New Art). From 1982 to 1984, he was co‑founder and director of APTART Gallery, which was located in his studio apartment in Moscow.

Alexeev Nikita

Pavla Markova was born in Omsk. She is a professionally qualified photographer and videographer. Group exhibitions include: Good. New Art from Omsk (Luda Gallery, St. Petersburg, 2014), Texts (Levaya Noga Gallery, Omsk, 2016), On Work (Egorka Communal Gallery, St. Petersburg, 2018), The Cap. A Chamber Stereo Opera about St. Petersburg Art (Chaliapin House Museum, St. Petersburg, 2019), the 2nd Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art (Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2020), and Assuming Distance: Speculations, Fakes, and Predictions in the Age of the Coronacene (Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2021). She is a member of the artist‑run space Intimate Place (St. Petersburg).

Markova Pavla

Rostan Tavasiev was born in Moscow. He graduated as a jeweler from Karl Fabergé Professional College of Decorative and Applied Arts No. 332 (Moscow, 1998) and from the Graphic Design Department of Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry (2007). In 2002, he completed the course New Artistic Strategies at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (Moscow). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the 4th Krasnoyarsk Biennale (2011), Generation XXI. The Gift of Vladimir Smirnov and Konstantin Sorokin (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 2020), and others.

Tavasiev Rostan

Born in Novomoskovsk. She graduated from the Free Studios at Moscow Museum of Modern
Art (2021) and the Joseph Backstein Institute of Contemporary Art (2022). She took part in
WHW Akademija (Zagreb, 2022), an independent project by the curatorial group WHW, and
a residency at Baltic Art Center (Gotland, Sweden, 2023). She is a resident of the program
ColLab, where she weaves on a TS2 semi‑automatic Jacquard loom. She is the author of the
Telegram channel Shvami narushu, which covers textile artists.

Pashkova Kristina

Tatiana Efrussi was born in Moscow. She graduated from Moscow State University (2011) and Rodchenko Art School (Moscow, 2015). She received her PhD from the University of Kassel (2020). She is a member of the artistic and economic association Flying Cooperation. She was curator of the photographic workshop The Bauhaus in Russia. Ghosts (with Yuri Palmin) as part of the exhibition bauhaus imaginista. Moving Away: The Internationalist Architect (Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2018). She is the author of academic papers on the history of architecture.

Efrussi Tatjana

Andrei Dmitrenko was born in Vladivostok. He works with textiles, embroidery, drawing, installation, and video. He graduated from Far Eastern Federal University (Vladivostok, 2014) and BAZA Institute (Moscow, 2021). He has had solo exhibitions at Arka Contempoarry Art Gallery (Vladivostok, 2016, 2018) and Zarya Center for Contemporary Art (2017, 2019).

Dmitrenko Andrei

Lera Lerner was born in Leningrad. She graduated from the Faculty of Soil Biology at St. Petersburg State University (2012) and the PRO ARTE Foundation’s Young Artists’ School (St. Petersburg, 2015). She has taken part in numerous group exhibitions, including Not a Museum. Laboratory of Aesthetic Suspicions (Novaya Industriya Art Space, St. Petersburg, 2014), Life of the Living (Arsenal, Nizhny Novgorod; National Center for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, 2016–2017), Intervention: Follow Instructions or Don’t (General Staff Building, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2018), Bureau des transmissions (Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2019), and Open Borders (Ploshchad Mira Museum Center, Krasnoyarsk, 2019). She is the founder of the Imaginary Museum of Displaced Persons.

Catalogue of the Collection

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