Not unfounded ambitions
Whilst this prediction might seem a tad optimistic, it is the vision with which she leads the Garage Museum Moscow who have recently displayed significant investment in this project as well as Russian artistic production. On June 12, the Garage Museum is to inaugurate its new space in Gorky Park. The museum, designed by Rem Khoolhaas, will be launched on this date for a strategic reason. For art insiders, June 12 falls during the Venice Biennale and just a few days prior to the opening of Art Basel in Switzerland.
Open since 2008, the museum formerly occupied Soviet architect Konstantin Melnikov’s Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage and since 2012 it has been housed in a pavillion constructed by Shigeru Ban. The new space, a former restaurant which was abandoned over 20 years ago, measures 58,000 ft2. It will be composed of five galleries, education spaces, as well as an two-flood auditorium.
The Kunsthall template
Directed by Anton Belov, the institution is described by Zhukova as “a family project”, broadening their own resources as well as gaining independence from the founder and her multimillionaire husband, and serious art collector Roman Abramovich. The Garage will not develop a collection straight away, but rather focus on exhibiting works by emerging Russian and international artists.
The inaugural programme will include installations by Russian artists Eric Bulatov and Rirkrit Tiravanija. In September, the Garage will host the first retrospective of Louise Bourgeois’ work in Moscow, coorganized with the Haus der Kunst in Munich.
