Murals
Murals
Murals and Artists
Murals and Artists
ILYA SLAK
At the heart of a kaleidoscope is a multifaceted play of light, colors, and shapes. As the title suggests, the same is true about this mural by Ilya Blinov, otherwise known as Ilya Slak. With multiple parts fitting together into a coordinated pattern, it captures the nature of the location perfectly. In an actual kaleidoscope, the pattern changes with the slightest turn. In the same way, the Skolkovo Innovation Center is home to diverse projects and initiatives, each of them contributing their unique notes to the symphony of innovation as they explore new opportunities and horizons on a daily basis. This is a hub for startups and businesses active in a range of industries, from biotech and energy to AI and IT. While each of them is self-sufficient, together they create a powerful, constantly evolving ecosystem.
With this work of art, Ilya Slak has created a metaphor for the synergy present at Skolkovo. While it appears holistic, every fragment making it up tells a story of its own and will still look complete if detached. At the Innovation Center, things are exactly the same. All the different projects are working towards a common mission. In this kaleidoscope of ideas, every piece is precious, every effort matters, and, together, they are shaping an unprecedented image of the future.
With this work of art, Ilya Slak has created a metaphor for the synergy present at Skolkovo. While it appears holistic, every fragment making it up tells a story of its own and will still look complete if detached. At the Innovation Center, things are exactly the same. All the different projects are working towards a common mission. In this kaleidoscope of ideas, every piece is precious, every effort matters, and, together, they are shaping an unprecedented image of the future.
Ilya Blinov, better known as Ilya Slak, is an artist who comes from Beloozyorsky, a town in the Moscow Region. His first experiment of spray painting a wall in 2003 turned out life-changing. Today, his artistic record lists dozens of appearances in art festivals, group shows, and fairs across Russia and abroad, as well as multiple brand collaborations.
Ilya Slak practices a predominantly non-figurative abstract style based on geometrical structures. He strives to make his legacy timeless, turning each piece into a real-time portrayal of his inner state. He practices both monumental painting and studio work where he primarily experiments with canvas, paper, and wood. He draws his inspiration from electronic music, architecture, and any geometrical shapes found in nature.
Ilya Slak practices a predominantly non-figurative abstract style based on geometrical structures. He strives to make his legacy timeless, turning each piece into a real-time portrayal of his inner state. He practices both monumental painting and studio work where he primarily experiments with canvas, paper, and wood. He draws his inspiration from electronic music, architecture, and any geometrical shapes found in nature.
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Kaleidoscope
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
IVAN NINETY
Ivan Ninety creates most of his art around reinterpreting the concept of postmemory which has gained presence in today’s narrative. With his works merging digital and analogue media, the artist explores some points of contact where historical meets modern. A fusion of realism with abstract elements is just one of the style aspects of his creative output.
On the Other Side of the Screen is part of Ivan Ninety’s original art series offering a closer look at the interaction between man and technology. In this case, a computer. One surface of this work highlights the current advancements of technology. A person portrayed sitting in front of a computer is assumingly sending us a message which is then up to their counterpart on the other side to decode. While this process has long been automated, the artist presents us with a scene where functions of a machine are being taken on by a human. Some eye-catching additions to the visual storyline include abstract patches using original paper collage-work as well as patterns relying on the pixel, treated by the artist as a basic unit in graphics. As a source of inspiration when designing his mural for this project at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, Ivan Ninety turned to cyanotype printing. One of the earliest photographic techniques
that produces prints in shades of blue, it was the aesthetic that defined the color scheme.
On the Other Side of the Screen is part of Ivan Ninety’s original art series offering a closer look at the interaction between man and technology. In this case, a computer. One surface of this work highlights the current advancements of technology. A person portrayed sitting in front of a computer is assumingly sending us a message which is then up to their counterpart on the other side to decode. While this process has long been automated, the artist presents us with a scene where functions of a machine are being taken on by a human. Some eye-catching additions to the visual storyline include abstract patches using original paper collage-work as well as patterns relying on the pixel, treated by the artist as a basic unit in graphics. As a source of inspiration when designing his mural for this project at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, Ivan Ninety turned to cyanotype printing. One of the earliest photographic techniques
that produces prints in shades of blue, it was the aesthetic that defined the color scheme.
Originally from Protvino, Moscow Region, Ivan Ninety is an artist with a background of professional training as a software development engineer and graphic designer. His creative journey began in 2007 with classical graffiti art and analogue photography. He eventually forged his own style based on paper and digital collage techniques using his original artwork as source material. Embracing the aesthetic of vintage printing techniques, he produces monochromatic art in hues of cyanotype, sepia, and black-and-white photography.
Ivan Ninety has been on the lineup of a multitude of street art festivals and events. His murals adorn urban landscapes in locations across Russia, including Protvino, Moscow, Vladimir, Tula, Kaliningrad, Apatity, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan, Almetyevsk, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, Sheregesh, Novokuznetsk, and Sakhalin. There are international projects in his portfolio, too. In 2017, he collaborated with Johannes Mundinger of Germany to create a mural in Lodz, Poland. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he took part in the Arte Core Festival of Urban Arts in 2018 and returned with a solo show in 2024.
Ivan Ninety has been on the lineup of a multitude of street art festivals and events. His murals adorn urban landscapes in locations across Russia, including Protvino, Moscow, Vladimir, Tula, Kaliningrad, Apatity, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan, Almetyevsk, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, Sheregesh, Novokuznetsk, and Sakhalin. There are international projects in his portfolio, too. In 2017, he collaborated with Johannes Mundinger of Germany to create a mural in Lodz, Poland. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he took part in the Arte Core Festival of Urban Arts in 2018 and returned with a solo show in 2024.
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On The Other Side
of the Screen
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
VLADISLAV DAKES
Vladislav Dakes applies a semiotic approach to his creative practice. He delves into the philosophy of language and communication while exploring how cultural codes and the urban environment affect perception. In his body of work, lines, shapes, colors, composition, and textures make up a sign system which the artist uses to express sophisticated philosophy-related concepts and his understanding of how language conditions our consciousness.
While creating this work for the 2024 edition of the Here and Now Festival, Vladislav was, admittedly, reflecting on the role of experiment in art and science. As the title for it, he chose an equation exemplifying the so-called synergy arithmetic.
It is commonly believed that synergy arithmetic makes no mathematical sense, however it does contribute to the true representation of creative, social and scientific dynamics. Relying on this understanding, the artist presents a case where combining two constituents, theory (1) and practice (1), produces a new object, concept, or form (3). With this work of art, an illustration of synergy in action is now on display at the Skolkovo Innovation Center.
While creating this work for the 2024 edition of the Here and Now Festival, Vladislav was, admittedly, reflecting on the role of experiment in art and science. As the title for it, he chose an equation exemplifying the so-called synergy arithmetic.
It is commonly believed that synergy arithmetic makes no mathematical sense, however it does contribute to the true representation of creative, social and scientific dynamics. Relying on this understanding, the artist presents a case where combining two constituents, theory (1) and practice (1), produces a new object, concept, or form (3). With this work of art, an illustration of synergy in action is now on display at the Skolkovo Innovation Center.
Vladislav Dakes is a contemporary artist, practicing designer and creator based in Sochi. Being active in graphic art and collage-work, he also produces objects, installations, and murals in the urban landscape. Vladislav is a graduate of the British Higher School of Art and Design where his areas of academic focus included hand-printing techniques, the philosophy of media, and communication theory. Fused with his street practice, this background provided a foundation for his creative experiments.
Vladislav is part of the Valgalo Company, the Sochi-based team of urban artists. His portfolio boasts numerous art objects he has created across Russia. In 2024, Vladislav took part in the Biennial of Visual Arts in Serpukhov, Russia, where he painted a building with artwork designed as a homage to Vassily Kandinsky and built The Art Well.1928, an installation modeling the local artesian well tower from 1928, now lost.
Vladislav is part of the Valgalo Company, the Sochi-based team of urban artists. His portfolio boasts numerous art objects he has created across Russia. In 2024, Vladislav took part in the Biennial of Visual Arts in Serpukhov, Russia, where he painted a building with artwork designed as a homage to Vassily Kandinsky and built The Art Well.1928, an installation modeling the local artesian well tower from 1928, now lost.
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1+1=3
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ANDREY OLENEV
‘Art is I; science is we,’ famously wrote Claude Bernard, the French physiologist who is recognized as one of the founders of modern physiology. In this saying, he pointed out how the individualism of artistic creation is opposed to the public and universal nature of scholarly endeavors. Being fundamentally and utterly consistent, scientific work perfectly exemplifies a perpetuum mobile: once launched, the cognitive process can never come to a halt, apparently running on the very energy it generates.
In this mural created by Andrey Olenev, the light bulbs represent new ideas and creations. The Skolkovo Innovation Center is home to hundreds of researchers and inventors, creative and tech business owners, students and teachers, all of whom commit their efforts and expertise towards empowering their community as well as the city we can see in the background. On the reverse side of the mural, against a pristine landscape of green and blue, the light bulbs are portrayed as vessels being filled with life-giving, crystal-clear water, expressing the concept of innovation being natural and unconstrained.
In this mural created by Andrey Olenev, the light bulbs represent new ideas and creations. The Skolkovo Innovation Center is home to hundreds of researchers and inventors, creative and tech business owners, students and teachers, all of whom commit their efforts and expertise towards empowering their community as well as the city we can see in the background. On the reverse side of the mural, against a pristine landscape of green and blue, the light bulbs are portrayed as vessels being filled with life-giving, crystal-clear water, expressing the concept of innovation being natural and unconstrained.
Raised and still residing in Nizhny Novgorod, Andrey Olenev is a contemporary artist who first gained recognition in the mid-2010s for his artworks of generous dimensions, painted on historical wooden houses in the quaint part of his hometown. With some original stories at the heart of those works, inspired by the art of the Northern Renaissance, Andrey found an extravagant way of bringing the vanishing locale into the spotlight. Today, he keeps expanding his versatility as an artist through studio work, public art projects, and installations, in which imaginative visions are implemented as tangible multi-dimensional objects.
Andrey Olenev has had his art featured in well over a dozen group exhibitions hosted by the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, the National Center for Contemporary Art, the PERMM Museum of Modern Art, and the Arsenal Center for Contemporary Art in Nizhny Novgorod. As an Artist-in-Residence, he took part in the 5th and 6th Ural Industrial Biennials of Contemporary Art. His solo shows have delighted audiences in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, and Saint Petersburg. Andrey Olenev is a resident artist at Tikhaya Studio, a cooperative artists’ workshop
and center for modern art in Nizhny Novgorod.
Andrey Olenev has had his art featured in well over a dozen group exhibitions hosted by the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, the National Center for Contemporary Art, the PERMM Museum of Modern Art, and the Arsenal Center for Contemporary Art in Nizhny Novgorod. As an Artist-in-Residence, he took part in the 5th and 6th Ural Industrial Biennials of Contemporary Art. His solo shows have delighted audiences in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, and Saint Petersburg. Andrey Olenev is a resident artist at Tikhaya Studio, a cooperative artists’ workshop
and center for modern art in Nizhny Novgorod.
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The Creator
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ANATOLY AKUE
Through his art, Anatoly Akue seeks to explore how meditative practices inform creativity as well as how the diverse aspects of individual psychology are manifested in self-expression.
When drafting a design for this work, the artist was, admittedly, reflecting on the irreversible nature of transformation and change. We often disregard things becoming different as we move through our daily lives, and at times we may even fail at pinpointing what drives our actions and where it may lead us. Through this work, the artist tried to convey his understanding of personal and social dynamics, of the intrinsic rhythm of transformation followed by natural and urban environments alike, and of the depth at which our consciousness is able to perceive change.
This work of art presents a snapshot of a metamorphosis. If you start walking around the installation, you will notice the rhythm of the pattern forming an endless loop, keeping you focused on continuing the movement. At the same time, the space inside the curves provides room for slowing down and focusing on your sensations. It conveys a metaphor of human life, which involves alternately working hard and recovering, breathing in and out, accelerating and relaxing. At any moment, the observer is free to choose the state they prefer being in.
When drafting a design for this work, the artist was, admittedly, reflecting on the irreversible nature of transformation and change. We often disregard things becoming different as we move through our daily lives, and at times we may even fail at pinpointing what drives our actions and where it may lead us. Through this work, the artist tried to convey his understanding of personal and social dynamics, of the intrinsic rhythm of transformation followed by natural and urban environments alike, and of the depth at which our consciousness is able to perceive change.
This work of art presents a snapshot of a metamorphosis. If you start walking around the installation, you will notice the rhythm of the pattern forming an endless loop, keeping you focused on continuing the movement. At the same time, the space inside the curves provides room for slowing down and focusing on your sensations. It conveys a metaphor of human life, which involves alternately working hard and recovering, breathing in and out, accelerating and relaxing. At any moment, the observer is free to choose the state they prefer being in.
Active on the street art scene since the late 1990s, Anatoly Akue is a versatile artist with a strong practice in abstractionist and graphic art, graffiti writing, and painting. He belongs to the rare type of contemporary artists who keep evolving through a pursuit for new modes of creative expression. His works strike the right balance of being eloquent, edgy and yet precise in detail.
Over the past decade, Anatoly Akue has taken part in many of the most prominent street art festivals across Russia. In 2018, he created mural art for the project ‘Station Russia,’ presented at the Russian Pavilion for the 16th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale. On the contemporary art scene, Anatoly Akue’s art is currently presented by the Moscow-based Triumph Gallery. Alongside that, his distinctive body of work can be seen on walls all over the world, including in Russia, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Montenegro, Japan, Australia, Mexico, the Netherlands, and other countries.
Over the past decade, Anatoly Akue has taken part in many of the most prominent street art festivals across Russia. In 2018, he created mural art for the project ‘Station Russia,’ presented at the Russian Pavilion for the 16th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale. On the contemporary art scene, Anatoly Akue’s art is currently presented by the Moscow-based Triumph Gallery. Alongside that, his distinctive body of work can be seen on walls all over the world, including in Russia, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Montenegro, Japan, Australia, Mexico, the Netherlands, and other countries.
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Change
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
OLGA ‘INEY’ CHIKINA
The search for identity is at the core of Olga INEY’s art. Immersing herself in creative work, she seems to be using it as a way to complete herself. She also expands her understanding of her home country through seeing its artefacts in a new light. Driven by her interest in Russian history and culture, she keeps exploring its symbols, values, heroes, and rituals. In her art, Olga merges our native visual language with a representation of her personal experiences, which may be seen as her own way of creating new worlds and landscapes.
As the source of inspiration behind this work, Olga INEY focused on the deeper meaning of technology and the way it unfolds in real life, a concept that resonates profoundly with the Skolkovo Innovation Center. One aspect of technology is how it makes our lives organized. This mural is a representation of how the artist sorted out the chaos of her mind, arranging all the thoughts and images as elements in a perfectly coordinated geometrical pattern. In order to convey an overall architectural impression of a concept in exploration, Olga INEY intentionally avoided using any direct symbols representing research or technology in this design.
As the source of inspiration behind this work, Olga INEY focused on the deeper meaning of technology and the way it unfolds in real life, a concept that resonates profoundly with the Skolkovo Innovation Center. One aspect of technology is how it makes our lives organized. This mural is a representation of how the artist sorted out the chaos of her mind, arranging all the thoughts and images as elements in a perfectly coordinated geometrical pattern. In order to convey an overall architectural impression of a concept in exploration, Olga INEY intentionally avoided using any direct symbols representing research or technology in this design.
Originally from and based in Moscow, Olga ‘INEY’ Chikina is a contemporary artist who first embarked on her creative journey as a graffiti writer in the 2000s with the rise of the hip-hop movement in Russia. Today, she makes regular appearances as a participant in prominent street art shows and festivals, among them the Moscow Urban Art Fair, the Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art, Faces & Laces, and more. In 2024, Olga INEY’s studio works were featured in an exhibition at the Novaya Tretyakovka Gallery.
During her studies at the British Higher School of Art and Design, Olga discovered a passion for Russian folklore. Drawing from a well of inspiration hidden in folk tales, she reimagines familiar characters along with designing her own. She transforms two-dimensional surfaces with vivid optical illusions. Olga INEY’s creative method merges traditional motifs with today’s reality. Her body of work includes paintings, plywood wall art, and murals. A vibrant, high-contrast color scheme defines her style while her art remarkably delivers its message with a twist.
During her studies at the British Higher School of Art and Design, Olga discovered a passion for Russian folklore. Drawing from a well of inspiration hidden in folk tales, she reimagines familiar characters along with designing her own. She transforms two-dimensional surfaces with vivid optical illusions. Olga INEY’s creative method merges traditional motifs with today’s reality. Her body of work includes paintings, plywood wall art, and murals. A vibrant, high-contrast color scheme defines her style while her art remarkably delivers its message with a twist.
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Untitled
Central Park
at Skolkovo
Innovation Center
at Skolkovo
Innovation Center
EVGENY ‘JÖN’ MALYSHEV
With this mural, street artist Evgeny Malyshev, better known as Jön, elaborates on a long-lasting subject of his creative interest, that of collective memory and the downfall of past-era analogue optical technology, giving way to new digital media. The painted image appears distorted and split in ways that resemble fragmented memories or a glitchy computer screen. The storyline of this work focuses on generating original art with the same approach as that of a neural network — by rearranging input elements to produce something new.
Through his work, Jön explores and illustrates the way human memory tends to fragment and reconstruct its contents as many times as they are revisited. He also addresses tools that help expand and enhance memory. Those treasured black-and-white family photographs, memoires, works of art, film footage... What do people actually remember and how genuine are those memories? Each time you reflect on a moment from the past, it is ’recorded over.’ However, with new technology and neural networks, such as the ones in the pipeline at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, we may be in for a future of memories and personal stories generated on demand.
Through his work, Jön explores and illustrates the way human memory tends to fragment and reconstruct its contents as many times as they are revisited. He also addresses tools that help expand and enhance memory. Those treasured black-and-white family photographs, memoires, works of art, film footage... What do people actually remember and how genuine are those memories? Each time you reflect on a moment from the past, it is ’recorded over.’ However, with new technology and neural networks, such as the ones in the pipeline at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, we may be in for a future of memories and personal stories generated on demand.
Born and based in Kaliningrad, Russia, Evgeny Malyshev, better known as Jön, is a contemporary artist whose vision is rooted in the landscapes and history of his homeland. His first steps along the creative pathway were shaped by the legacy of local pioneers in graffiti art, along with the bizarre aesthetic of abandoned sites. Through his art, he addresses nostalgia and transition, memories and reflections on time, decay and emergence. From derelict structures to public spaces, he transforms surfaces into canvases for his street art.
Jön has contributed his art to a range of contemporary and street art festivals and group shows, in Russia and abroad. His works have been featured in projects across a broad geography including Moscow, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Tyumen, Ufa, and other cities. In 2023, he debuted with a solo show, ‘Rare Species,’ hosted by 159F Gallerie at Cube. Moscow.
Jön has contributed his art to a range of contemporary and street art festivals and group shows, in Russia and abroad. His works have been featured in projects across a broad geography including Moscow, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Tyumen, Ufa, and other cities. In 2023, he debuted with a solo show, ‘Rare Species,’ hosted by 159F Gallerie at Cube. Moscow.
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A Reminiscence
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
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