Old and New – KVARTIRA S

On February 1, 2023, the Kvartira S Gallery, together with the Artplay Design Center, opened the group exhibition “Old and New,” dedicated to the phenomenon of apprenticeship in the broadest sense of the word. The participating artists were selected through an open call held in December 2022 and January 2023.

The exhibition was curated by art historian and arts journalist Maria Grafutko.

The open call attracted more than a hundred submissions from contemporary Russian artists. Emerging and established artists presented works united by the theme of apprenticeship. In the art world, the role of the apprentice is generally assumed by a young artist, while that of the mentor may belong to a wide variety of people—or even phenomena. The works presented in the “Old and New” exhibition reflect the artists’ personal stories and their paths of learning: the influence of a teacher or an art studio, inspiration drawn from the classical masters and a rethinking of their experience and practice, reflections on the previous year or earlier events in the artist’s life, and so forth.

“Every new artistic experience invariably carries within it a part of the accumulated cultural code. The desire to build everything anew, from the ground up, is always disingenuous. This exhibition is about the importance of consciously appropriating and accumulating the entirety of past experience, and I believe that the exhibition we have created fully embodies this idea,” says the exhibition’s curator, Maria Grafutko.

The exhibition welcomed a broad audience of visitors with a genuine passion for art, from serious collectors to those purchasing their first original work. You will be able to trace the parallels of apprenticeship, immerse yourself in the artists’ inner worlds, and join them in reflecting on the artistic experience accumulated over time.

Participating artists:

Alena Grishko, Elena Shekshina, Irina Orlova, Natalia Veneva, Ksenia Ladatko, Katya Chirkova, Bella Novinkova, Ekaterina Kuzmina, Yulia Mikhailova, Madina Belikova, Anna Mitrofanova, Olga Akulina, Alexandra Beshko, Ekaterina Borisova, Elena Kurochko, Elena Sorokina, Oleg Gorbushkin, Ekaterina Kolesnikova, Yulia Khishchenko Elena Smilevets, Olga Rezanova, Anastasia Chervonnaya, Veronika Kashchenko, Elizaveta Suvorova, Dasha Rybina, Polina Gulgas.

Media coverage of the exhibition:

ARTPLAY

Afisha

Gorodzovet

As part of the exhibition a competition was held, following which the gallery team, curator Maria Grafutko and the exhibition visitors selected the artists whose works will be accepted for complimentary participation in the gallery’s projects in 2023–2024.

The competition winners have also become gallery residents; their works will soon appear on our website:

DASHA RYBINA

KATYA CHIRKOVA

OLGA AKULINA

MADINA BELIKOVA

OLGA REZANOVA

ELENA KUROCHKO

We thank all the artists for taking part! See you at new exhibitions.


As part of the exhibition "Old and New", the competition was held: the gallery team, the curator Maria Grafutko and visitors of the exhibition 
selected the authors whose works will be accepted for free participation in gallery projects in 2023-2024.

The winners of the competition have also become residents of the gallery, their works will soon appear on our website:

DASHA RYBINA

KATYA CHIRKOVA

OLGA AKULINA

MADINA BELIKOVA

OLGA REZANOVA

ELENA KUROCHKO

Thanks to all the artists for participating! See you at new exhibitions.