Honoring the tradition

A private view of Georgian art at the Pushkin Museum

Text: Olga Muromtseva
Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich, Alexander Kazakov, Denis Kuznetsov, Evgeny Dudin

The official opening of the exhibition at the Pushkin Museum

Attending a private view means not only the opportunity to be among the first to see and appreciate the exhibition, but also to meet colleagues and friends, to share the news and exchange ideas. However, when a number of important art show opens within the space of one week, offering a ton of fascinating events, potential visitors face a difficult choice.

On December 7, the opening day of the exhibition «Georgian avant-garde of 1900−1930s: Pirosmani, Gudiashvili, Kakabadze, and others. From museums and private collections», it seemed the choice was much easier than usual — if at all existed. The entire business and cultural elite of Moscow gathered that evening at the Private Collections Department of the Pushkin Museum, the three floors of which were milling with notable guests.

The first part of the event — the ceremonial one — was traditionally held in the Italian courtyard of the Museum's main building. In addition to the welcome speeches, the guests were in for a surprise — the celebrated Georgian traditional vocal polyphony performed by the music collective «Acapella Saqartvelo». The warm atmosphere of the evening was further inspirited with Georgian wine, chacha brandy, and churchkhela served at a cozy courtyard of the Private Collections building. The buffet part and initial viewing were accompanied by music and singing. As expected, the opening of a Georgian art show turned out to be a true celebration, vibrant and festive but also warm and soulful — just as the Georgian tradition goes.

Georgian musicians at the opening ceremony

Director of the Pushkin Museum Marina Loshak

TV show host Ivan Urgant

The exhibition curator Iveta Manasherov

Tamaz Manasherov and Director of the Multimedia Art Museum Olga Sviblova

Journalist Viktor Loshak and Iveta Manasherov

Social activist and theater critic Mikhail Shvydkoy

Journalist Leonid Parfyonov

Iveta Manasherov, chief editor of Nezavisimaya Gazeta Konstantin Remchukov, and chief editor of Forbes Russia Nikolay Uskov

Executive Director of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art Vasili Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli

Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery Zelfira Tregulova

The founders of the U-Art fund Iveta and Tamaz Manasherov

Iveta Manasherov presents the exhibition catalog

The founder of the U-Art fund Tamaz Manasherov

Michael and Elena Kamensky, Tamaz Manasherov, Inna Bazhenova

In the Pirosmani hall

Anatoly Grebelsky and Marina Levashova, managing partner of the Robots Corporation

TV presenter Anna Mongayt

Olga Petrova, Olga Muromtseva, Iveta Manasherov, Elena Lisina, Elena Tregubenko, Elena Kaysheva

Elena Dzhaparidze and Iveta Manasherov

Ziuli Manasherov and Anzhi Gasparyan

Founders of the New York ABA Gallery Maya and Anatoly Bekkerman, President of the Tchaikovsky International Charity Fund Mark Zilberkvit

Olga Muromtseva (U-Art) and art scholars Nina Getashvili and Ketevan Kintsurashvili

Mikhail Shvydkoy and former Prime Minister of Russia Ilya Klebanov

23 December 2016

Pirosmani and Co.

This fall-winter exhibition season in Moscow museums has seen a grand assortment of vibrant art events. Long queues cannot frighten art lovers keen to view the masterpieces of the Vatican collection or visiting displays from French and Italian museums. Going to an art show has become a fashionable trend, and its followers closely monitor museum programs for updates, booking tickets in advance. The U-ART fund, jointly with the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, has created a project that in the list of the winter 2016/17 exhibitions is worthy of a prominent spot - thanks to the concept behind it

7 December 2016

Giovanni Sollima: “ You can be very ‘ modern’ but disconnected from life”

At the Vivacello festival, the Italian cellist and composer performed his Antidotum Tarantulae XXI concert for the first time in Russia. This “modern antidote for tarantula bite” stirred, probably, most discussions in the press and among the festival visitors alike. The expressive modern music is in conversation with the past, with the Renaissance and Baroque — and for explanations we turned to Giovanni Sollima himself

29 November 2016

Honey from a jar and a tarantula bite

The 8th VIVACELLO Festival, held as usual at various Moscow venues under the management of Boris Andrianov and the culture and charity foundation U-Art: You and Art, has exposed certain important issues concerning interpretation and perception of music written for so unhurried an instrument. (Osip Mandelstam likened the density of the cello timbre to honey flowing from a tilted glass jar)

2 November 2016

To “Kollektsia!”

Art Patrons Iveta and Tamaz Manasherov Participate in a Pompidou Center’s Project. The collection of Russian art in the P ompidou Center is well-known internationally and includes works by Kandinsky and Malevich, Chagall and Pevzner, Puni and Exter, Bulatov and Kabakov - great names and seminal works all throughout ...

3 October 2016

Art with an address

The exhibition entitled “Apartment no. 5: To the History of the Petrograd Avant-Garde, 1915–1925” was presented at the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg, supported by Unident Group and U-ART Cultural Charitable Foundation presided by Iveta and Tamaz Manasherov.