HSE Opens New Modern Art Gallery
The HSE Art Gallery is the first of its kind among Russian universities. The gallery is expected to become a space for established contemporary artists and students to work together and share their experiences with one another. They will be able to not only present their works at the gallery, but also participate in the creation of exhibitions.
The gallery is located in the School of Design building at 12 Malaya Pionerskaya Street, but has its own specially equipped exhibition space with a separate entrance. The gallery opening was an important step that followed a successful admissions process for the Modern Art undergraduate programme, which among other fields trains future curators and art managers. Now students will be apply to apply the knowledge they have gained right alongside their studies.
‘The entire fanfare behind the modern art educational programme stems from its practical aspects, which is why it is essential that there be a platform for [student] projects,’ comments Leonid Bazhanov, who is an art critic and historian, as well as an instructor in the programme. ‘I hope the gallery is just a first step. Sooner or later HSE has to get its own university museum with a division for storing the works. It’s unfortunate that the exhibitions are only temporary when it’s possible to put together a wonderful collection of modern art so quickly.’
The first project of the gallery’s exhibition season is called ‘New Slogans,’ which is curated by Alexander Shaburov, an artist in the Blue Noses Group and an instructor in the HSE School of Design. For the exhibition Shaburov put together various manifestos, slogans, paintings, photographs, video installations, and relevant statements that contemporary artists have made on important issues and put into graphical form.
Over 40 works are being exhibited, the creators of which include not only students and School of Design instructors, but also renowned Russian artists such as Oleg Kulik, Pavel Pepperstein, Anatoly Osmolovsky, Pakhom (Sergei Pakhomov), Lev Rubenstein, Yury Albert, and many others. Several artists personally attended the gallery’s opening, including Artem Loskutov, who is one of the organisers of Monstration. ‘I’m glad that spaces are opening up in the region. I live across the street and was pleasantly surprised. Shaburov wrote me, “I’m exhibiting Monstration here. Come see it.” I knew nothing about the space or the exhibition; everything is more serious than what his text message let on,’ Loskutov notes.
According to lecturer Alexander Shaburov, this proximity has allowed for students to enter a broader context and feel like part of a larger culture. ‘This is the Higher School of Economics School of Design after all. All of the instructors have made tons of illustrated books and encyclopaedias with a lot of artwork, so any of them can put together an exhibition within just 30 minutes. There were no problems whatsoever,’ he explains. ‘Another issue is that you only see students’ work during exams, so an effort was made here to take everyone’s work and get them not to be afraid of this anymore.’
School of Design instructor Kristina Kolesnikova, whose work is also on exhibit, believes that this is the right approach. ‘I actually like this horizontality. The hierarchy under which we don’t admit anyone younger is very bad. Young people often create really great works at an early age, and the story of [Arthur] Rimbaud shows that they are no worse. I don’t think it’s right for there to be a caption under artwork saying 17, 37, or 50 years old. Art is art, and this is the wonderful thing,’ she says.
The plan for the exhibition has not yet been announced, but it is already clear that the gallery will become an experimental platform where students can work alongside artists, curators, outside experts, and instructors from the HSE School of Design. It is planned that each year the gallery will exhibit four projects that students design and execute together with the curators. This is in addition to exhibitions organised by outside institutions.
‘Even if students don’t participate in the exhibition as artists or creators, they will be able to learn about different approaches towards organising exhibitions thanks to their constant involvement in the installation and discussion process,’ adds gallery director Yulia Yusma. ‘This space that we’ve thought up is likely the only one in Russia where you can acquire skills while you study. Six months after starting at the school, you are already fully immersed in the reality of art exhibition. When we were putting together the exhibition with students, they learned a lot of new things about self-adhesive film and how artwork is hung. These are seemingly funny little facts, but there are a million of them and they’re really important. And to study them, you have to be doing this constantly.’
New Slogans will be on exhibit until October 18. The exhibition is open from 12 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. every day except Monday and Tuesday.
See also:
Stella Art Foundation Exhibition Featuring Works of HSE Art and Design School Teachers to Last until May 26
The Stella Art Foundation has launched the exhibition 'About All the Things That Live There’ by Curator of the Master’s track ‘Video Art’ at HSE Art and Design School Alexandra Mitlyanskaya, Coordinator of the ‘Photography’ track at HSE Art and Design School Evgenia Solomatina, as well as artist Nina Kotel. The project is curated by Alexey Korsi.
Exhibition by HSE Art and Design School Students Now Open at Fabrika Centre
The Fabrika Centre for Creative Industries is hosting a graduation exhibition by bachelor’s students of Contemporary Art at the HSE Art and Design School. In the exhibition titled ‘Freedom of Absurdity’, the early-career artists present their interpretations of melancholy. The exhibition is open to visitors until April 21, 2024, and admission is free of charge.
‘The Form of a Building Plays a Supportive Role; the Main Thing is Its Content’
Environmental design shapes the reality around us. It is the appearance of spaces, buildings, and objects that surround us. What is happening in this field today? What awaits us in the future? And how do we prepare for it? The HSE News Service discussed these and many other topics with Boris Bernaskoni, Head of Environmental Design Studies at the HSE Art and Design School.
Still the Best: HSE Art and Design School at the World Brand Design Society
HSE Art and Design students, graduates, and curators have been participating in the World Brand Design Society international competition for several years. The winter of 2023/24 was no exception—several projects won in various categories.
‘Winnie-the-Pooh and All, All, All’. Poster Exhibition of Graduates of HSE Art and Design School
Until March 15, the exhibition ‘Winnie-the-Pooh and All, All, All’ will be held in the Children's and Youth Department of the Central City Youth Library named after M.A. Svetlov. Graduates of the continuing education programme ‘Illustration. Basic Course’ decided to take a fresh look at A. A. Milne's beloved fairy tale by drawing incredibly colourful posters.
‘Our Exhibition Is an Attempt to Meet the Challenge of Conceptualism in the Most Radical Form’
On January 18–February 4, 2024, the philosophy and contemporary art exhibition ‘Exercises in Conceptualism’ took place at the Gallery Na Peschanoy (part of the Moscow City Galleries Network). The event posed a philosophical question about the phenomenon of conceptualism through the study of the artistic, institutional, epistemological (cognitive) and ontological (existential) status of explication, an important and little-studied element of modern art.
Second Season of ‘Parajanov—100’ Contest Launched at HSE Art and Design School
As part of a continuing exploration of the national cultural context, the HSE University Art and Design School and the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, in collaboration with the Sergei Parajanov Museum and the Artists' Union of Armenia, have announced the second open international online contest for collage in animation dedicated to the centenary of Sergei Parajanov’s birth.
‘It’s Important to Combine Painting with Modern Technology’
On January 19, the HSE ART GALLERY hosted the opening of a new exhibition, ‘Majors, Minors. Aftertone’, which will last until March 10. The exhibition features works created by students of the HSE Art and Design School as part of their courses on modern painting and creating art projects using photography and neural networks. The exhibition was curated by artists and teachers Olga Chernysheva, Vladislav Efimov, as well as art critic Nicolas Audureau.
HSE Art and Design School Opens First University Concept Store
In December, HSE University launched its first concept store—the HSE ART AND DESIGN STORE (part of the HSE Art and Design School). The new space offers ample opportunities for the successful implementation of design projects and features young and promising brands from students, graduates, and teachers of the HSE University Art and Design School.
Season Six of HSE CREATIVE OPEN Competition Begins
Beginner-level specialists and students, as well as graduates of any university, regardless of geographical location, are invited to participate. Works can be submitted in the categories of Identity, Object Design, Illustration and Comics, Game Visuals, and Sound until January 21, 2024. Launched by the HSE Art and Design School in 2022, the competition collected more than 1,500 works in its first year. Its goal is to present a unified platform to host original ideas and spectacular projects in all areas of design, contemporary art, and fashion, as well as to draw the attention of the creative community to the development of professions in the industry.