In the summer of 2013, the curators of Moscow's Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and Ljubljana's Moderna Galerija began to discuss mounting an exhibition in Moscow of the Arteast 2000+ Collection, the first museum collection focused on Eastern European postwar avant-garde artists. As Kate Fowle writes in her introduction, "Never before in Russia had there been an exhibition dedicated to presenting art from Eastern Europe in a way that integrated Russian artists into the story." Grammar of Freedom/Five Lessons begins an inquiry into the network of artistic influences in the "former East." The show and the catalogue propose a "grammar," or set of tools, that sheds light on how artistic strategies have created resistance to--or provided alternative commentaries on--a range of social and political situations. More than 60 artists and art collectives from Eastern Europe and countries of the former USSR are included, with works ranging from the 1960s up to the present day. Featured artists include Marina Abramovic, Geta Bratescu, Ion Grigorescu, Sanja Ivekovic, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Dan Perjovschi and Mladen Stilinovic, among others.

Grammar of Freedom/Five Lessons: Works from the Arteast 2000+ Collection

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Exhibit Russia is the first publication to reveal how the Russian art scene connected to the rest of the world during the turbulent decade following the adoption of the economic reforms known as perestroika. Focusing on those major group exhibitions and events which jettisoned Russian artists to international attention, or introduced Russian publics to Western art stars, the book provides readers with a unique perspective into the dawning of the global art world. First-hand accounts from leading curators, artists and writers of the time describe the stories behind each exhibition, which are illustrated through rare installation views and archival material. These are accompanied by reprinted articles from magazines, including Flash Art, Art in America and Moscow Art Magazine. The book concludes with a chronology, in which exhibitions are listed in relation to the key historical moments of the decade.Featured artists, curators and critics include: Jan Aman, Joseph Backstein, Veronika Bode, Shaun Caley, Ekaterina Degot, Sandra Frimmel, Jamey Gambrell, Vladimir Gorainov, Michael Govan, Boris Groys, Alanna Heiss, Georgy Litichevsky, Natalia Nikitina, Simon de Pury, David Ross, Tair Salakhov, Aidan Salakhova, Lisa Schmitz, Sergei Serp, Olga Sviblova, Zelfira Tregulova, Margarita Tupitsyn and Amei Wallach.

Exhibit Russia: The New International Decade 1986-1996 (Garage Archive Collection)

Since 2001, Rashid Johnson (born 1977) has risen to international attention with his powerfully visual statements on contemporary culture. Working across painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video and performance, the artist has charted a trajectory that offers fresh readings of art history, social history, psychology and literature. Rashid Johnson: New Work follows the making of the artist’s largest work to date: an immersive, living eco-system where fact, fiction, history and mythology converge. Described by the artist as a “brain” that prioritizes poetic rather than logical reason, the work offers unexpected associations between objects, video and sound, that have become untethered from their cultural roots, to provide nuanced readings on clichés of class, nation and race. The first book to follow the development of Johnson’s sculptural and installation works, Rashid Johnson: New Work includes an interview with the artist by Kate Fowle and an extensive essay, also by Fowle, which investigates Johnson’s influences and references. The New Work series examines in depth the making of a large-scale work, focusing on methods of research and production to provide new perspectives on the practice of a mid-career or established artist whose work resonates across cultures.

Rashid Johnson

Since the beginning of his career in the 1950s, Russian artist Erik Bulatov (born 1933) has investigated the potential of painting as social commentary. A founder of the school of Moscow Conceptualism alongside Ilya Kabakov, Collective Actions and Komar & Melamid, among others, Bulatov developed what has been described as conceptual painting, using text and image to explore spatial preoccupations that mirror his understanding of social relations. This volume follows the making of the artist’s largest work to date: a 30-foot-high monumental diptych made in his trademark graphic style, reminiscent of the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky’s advertising posters from the 1920s.Introducing an innovative assessment of Bulatov’s oeuvre, this richly illustrated book includes an essay by Snejana Krasteva exploring his use of monumental scale, an interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist and several texts by the artist which are translated to English for the first time.

Erik Bulatov

Featuring works by Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein and Robert Longo, Proof offers insight into the singularity of vision through which artists can reflect the social, cultural and political complexities of their times. Spanning eras and continents, each of these artists witnessed the turbulent transition from one century to another, experiencing the seismic impacts of revolution, civil rights movements and war.While Goya served church and king, Eisenstein the state, and Longo emerged during the rise of the contemporary art market―the dominant benefactors of each period―they all rose to prominence through developing nuanced practices that challenged expectations. With commissioned essays by journalist, activist and author Chris Hedges, artist Vadim Zakharov, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation Artistic Director Nancy Spector, and Garage Chief Curator Kate Fowle, plus an interview with Longo, this book is published to accompany the exhibition of the same name.

Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions