Discussion: Sotheby’s Auction in Moscow. 30 Years Later

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The speakers—artists Grisha Bruskin and Evgeny Dybsky, whose works were sold at the Sotheby’s auction in Moscow in 1988—together with eyewitnesses Leonid Bazhanov, Mikhail Kamensky, and Andrey Kovalev, will share their memories of that historic moment, one of the most exciting and paradoxical events in Soviet art life at the time of perestroika.

During the opening days of the exhibition Bidding for Glasnost: Sotheby’s 1988 Auction in Moscow, witnesses of the event along with artists, who took part in the auction sale Sotheby’s Russian Avant-Garde and Soviet Contemporary Art (1988), will share their recollections of the first and only international auction held in Moscow—an auction everyone has heard of but very few remember the details. The speakers will discuss why the very possibility of organizing such an event occurred in the Soviet condition, who selected the works, and how the auction went itself, while also questioning its milestone significance for the Russian artistic community.

Joining the discussion will be art historian Pavel Khoroshilov, who at the time of the auction was Director of the Vuchetich All-Soviet Art and Production Union and organizer from the Soviet side; artists Grisha Bruskin and Evgeny Dybsky, whose works were presented at the sales; as well as eyewitnesses of the auction, including art historian Leonid Bazhanov, former Head of Sotheby’s Russia Mikhail Kamensky, and art critic Andrey Kovalev.

The discussion will be moderated by Garage Museum curator Andrey Misiano.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Leonid Bazhanov is a Russian art historian, curator, professor and academic director of the Contemporary Art program at the National Research Center Higher school of Economics. He graduated from the Art History department of the History Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University (1973). At various times, Bazhanov collaborated with the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Moscow Kremlin Museums, the publishing house “Soviet Artist”, etc. He was Director of Administration of Fine Arts at the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation (1992–1997). Founder of the “Hermitage” creative association (Moscow, 1986), Center for Contemporary Arts (Moscow, 1990); National Center for Contemporary Arts (Moscow, 1992). Artistic director of the National Center for Contemporary Arts in 1997–2016, he lives and works in Moscow.

Grisha Bruskin is a Russian artist. Graduate of the Art department of the Moscow Textile Institute (1968). Bruskin gained instant world acclaim after his work Fundamental Lexicon (1986) was sold for a record £242,000 at the auction Sotheby’s Russian Avant-Garde and Soviet Contemporary Art in Moscow in 1988. Today, Bruskin’s pieces are in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow); State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg); the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow); Museum Ludwig (Cologne); the Berlin State Museums; MoMA (New York); Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University (New Brunswick); the Jewish Museum (New York); and others. He lives and works in New York and Moscow.

Evgeny Dybsky is a Russian artist. Graduate of the Surikov Moscow Art Institute (1984). Four of his works were presented and sold at the Sotheby’s Russian Avant-Garde and Soviet Contemporary Art (1988) in Moscow. Dybsky’s pieces are in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow); State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg); MMoMA (Moscow); Fondazione Marconi (Milan); Kunsthalle Henry Nannen (Emden, Germany); Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Aachen, Germany); Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University (New Brunswick). He lives and works between Berlin and Moscow.

Mikhail Kamensky, Philosophy PhD, is an art historian, art manager and journalist. Graduate of the English department of the Moscow State Pedagogical University and the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS) doctoral school. Founder of Russia’s first art fair ART-MYTH and the Russian auction house Alpha-Art. Kamensky was Deputy Director at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (1998–2002); Marketing, Advertising and PR Director at the Bank of Moscow (2003–2007); and Head of Sotheby’s Russia (2007–2016). He lives in Moscow.

Andrey Kovalev, Art History PhD, is an art critic and historian, senior lecturer at the Faculty of the Arts at Lomonosov Moscow State University. He is the winner of the Innovation Prize (2007) and author of books about contemporary Russian art, as well as multiple articles in Russian and international publications. He lives and works in Moscow.