Saatchi Gallery and Hermitage Foundation UK: Russia Contemporary

Saatchi Gallery and Hermitage Foundation UK announce a Series of talks by Russian artists for 2019.
The Hermitage Foundation UK, in collaboration with the Saatchi Gallery, announce a series of lectures by Russian contemporary artists which will be held at the Saatchi Gallery in 2019.

Launching on 30 January with a talk by abstract artist Vlad Kulkov, the aim of the programme is to provide a platform for Russian artists who have growing careers in Russia, but are perhaps less well known in the UK, to discuss their work and bring it to a new audience.

The series is the latest step in an ongoing collaboration between the Hermitage Foundation UK and the Saatchi Gallery. The collaboration began in 2007 when the exhibition ‘USA TODAY’, featuring works from the Saatchi Gallery collection by American artists, was shown in the State Hermitage Museum, followed in 2009 by ‘Newspeak : British Art Now’. These exhibitions launched the Hermitage 20/21 Project, an initiative aimed at extending the State Hermitage Museum’s collection into the 20th and 21st century.

The ‘Russia Contemporary’ lecture series will introduce the 20/21 Project to the UK by bringing contemporary artists from Russia to talk about their work at the Saatchi Gallery. The artists have been selected by Dr. Dimitri Ozerkov, Head of Contemporary Art at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and reflect the breadth and diversity of contemporary art from Russia, including both established and emerging artists.

Contributing artists will each present a rich discussion centred on their practice, and attendees will have an opportunity to both listen to and meet the artists. The series will highlight what it means to be an independent artist in Russia today and will be followed by a reception, giving guests the opportunity to mingle and speak to each artist individually.

Talk Dates

30 January: Vlad Kulkov (with introduction by Dimitri Ozerkov)
20 February: Asya Marakulina
27 March: Denis Patrakeev
24 April: Ivan Plusch
29 May: Evgeny Graniltschikov
5 June: Andrey Kuzkin