Map of objects
Map of objects
Objects and artists
Objects and artists
KRASIL MAKAR
Krasil Makar is an artist whose biography is part legend, according to which he was born in 1889 to a peasant family in Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha, a village in the modern-day Sverdlovsk Region, Russia. Between 1901 and 1939, taking time away from working the fields, he toured the countryside as a house painter, decorating log homes and household utensils. Considering he is at least 135 now, it is easy to trace his creative record all the way back to the roots and see how folk art heritage got so deeply embedded into his skills and style.
In 2017, Makar moved to Yekaterinburg where he made a name for himself with debut street art projects, bringing the Urals’ vernacular painting style into the modern spotlight. By the year 2022, the artist took his two-dimensional method further, expanding over to sculptural forms. The artist has four solo shows to his credit, in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, including ‘Krasil Makar. The Emergence of the Artist’ at the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, as well as dozens of street art integrations across Russia. Krasil Makar was on the lineup of the 2nd Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art, the 5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, the Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art, and multiple other contemporary art fairs in Moscow and Milan. In 2020, Makar was awarded the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Prize in the Art in Public Space category.
In 2017, Makar moved to Yekaterinburg where he made a name for himself with debut street art projects, bringing the Urals’ vernacular painting style into the modern spotlight. By the year 2022, the artist took his two-dimensional method further, expanding over to sculptural forms. The artist has four solo shows to his credit, in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, including ‘Krasil Makar. The Emergence of the Artist’ at the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, as well as dozens of street art integrations across Russia. Krasil Makar was on the lineup of the 2nd Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art, the 5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, the Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art, and multiple other contemporary art fairs in Moscow and Milan. In 2020, Makar was awarded the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Prize in the Art in Public Space category.
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The Space Chamomile
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Petals scattered by the wind.
The place where we once met…
In 19th-century Russia, decorative house painters were travelling craftsmen, each of them traditionally serving customers along a specific route, known as a putik. It must have been a streak of good fortune that put Moscow on such a route for Krasil Makar, a modern-day master mural painter from the Urals. Except he no longer paints villagers’ homes, focusing instead on larger urban settings and massive sculptural forms as his surfaces to work on.
To find prototypical forms for his visual language, the artist turned to a one-stroke decorative painting technique which originated in the Urals and involves using a brush loaded with white and colored paints on different sides. By reinterpreting traditional ornamental motifs such as berries, petals, leaves, and tiny accents, Makar created a ‘design kit’ for his signature imagery. He completes each piece with accompanying poetic commentary that offers some insight into the hidden meaning of the story behind it.
Krasil Makar is now on the lineup of the Here and Now Festival at the Skolkovo Innovation Center with The Space Chamomile, installed in the Central Park area. Using smooth, gentle shapes enhanced by vivid colors, it is a spatial composition that clearly dominates the setting. The work carries an allusion to the vernacular love prediction method using chamomile petals. Seeing that some of the petals are left unplucked, the observer may be willing to enter the scene as the protagonist and take over the count.
The place where we once met…
In 19th-century Russia, decorative house painters were travelling craftsmen, each of them traditionally serving customers along a specific route, known as a putik. It must have been a streak of good fortune that put Moscow on such a route for Krasil Makar, a modern-day master mural painter from the Urals. Except he no longer paints villagers’ homes, focusing instead on larger urban settings and massive sculptural forms as his surfaces to work on.
To find prototypical forms for his visual language, the artist turned to a one-stroke decorative painting technique which originated in the Urals and involves using a brush loaded with white and colored paints on different sides. By reinterpreting traditional ornamental motifs such as berries, petals, leaves, and tiny accents, Makar created a ‘design kit’ for his signature imagery. He completes each piece with accompanying poetic commentary that offers some insight into the hidden meaning of the story behind it.
Krasil Makar is now on the lineup of the Here and Now Festival at the Skolkovo Innovation Center with The Space Chamomile, installed in the Central Park area. Using smooth, gentle shapes enhanced by vivid colors, it is a spatial composition that clearly dominates the setting. The work carries an allusion to the vernacular love prediction method using chamomile petals. Seeing that some of the petals are left unplucked, the observer may be willing to enter the scene as the protagonist and take over the count.
POLINA FROLOVA
At the core of her creative practice, Polina Frolova experiments with sophisticated textile techniques which involve a lot of handwork. Most of the stories she tells through her work involve bird characters which represent our innermost feelings. She is also known for finding inspiration in mythological themes, some of which she has reinterpreted in a modern context.
Polina is an HSE School of Design graduate in Illustration. Debuting in 2022, she has contributed her works to numerous joint exhibitions of contemporary art and other collaborations since. As an artist, she is represented by the Shift Gallery & Creative Agency which also hosted her first appearance at the Blazar Young Contemporary Art Fair in the autumn of 2023. Her art is owned by several private collectors in Russia. Polina Frolova holds an award from the 7th Zhar-Kniga (‘Firebook’) National Book Design Competition for her Old Ladoga illustrated guidebook imagery design project. She was a participating artist at the MORS Independent International Festival of Book Illustration and Visual Literature, as well as a 3rd Season HSE CREATIVE OPEN Competition Nominee for Illustration.
Polina is an HSE School of Design graduate in Illustration. Debuting in 2022, she has contributed her works to numerous joint exhibitions of contemporary art and other collaborations since. As an artist, she is represented by the Shift Gallery & Creative Agency which also hosted her first appearance at the Blazar Young Contemporary Art Fair in the autumn of 2023. Her art is owned by several private collectors in Russia. Polina Frolova holds an award from the 7th Zhar-Kniga (‘Firebook’) National Book Design Competition for her Old Ladoga illustrated guidebook imagery design project. She was a participating artist at the MORS Independent International Festival of Book Illustration and Visual Literature, as well as a 3rd Season HSE CREATIVE OPEN Competition Nominee for Illustration.
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A Bouquet of Wildflowers
North-east section of the area between Stratos and Amalthea Business Centers
Head to the area between Stratos and Amalthea Business Centers for a most surprising landscaping highlight, A Bouquet of Wildflowers, by artist Polina Frolova. In a setting like this, the quintessentially timeless man vs. nature story at the heart of this work feels even more compelling. With this message from the artist, we are reminded of the importance of caring for our environment and staying in tune with nature, even amidst a big city defined by fast-paced lifestyles. This work catches the eye as it stands out against, and converses with, its modern-looking surroundings, suggesting we find our quiet moment away from the buzz and maybe smile to ourselves as we revisit some of our carefree childhood memories.
Designed in a deliberately naïve style, the flowers making up the Bouquet and the worm wiggling its way between them look like a child’s drawing that came to life. Planted in the middle of an urban landscape, these whimsical shapes created by the artist provide a beautiful invitation to slow down, take a deep breath and start daydreaming again.
Designed in a deliberately naïve style, the flowers making up the Bouquet and the worm wiggling its way between them look like a child’s drawing that came to life. Planted in the middle of an urban landscape, these whimsical shapes created by the artist provide a beautiful invitation to slow down, take a deep breath and start daydreaming again.
At the Skolkovo Innovation Center, creating a distinctive public space that goes hand in hand with art has been a priority from day one — and there couldn’t be better breeding grounds for resourceful minds. With a fascinating outdoor art collection already dotting the landscape, this work by Alexander Kashin makes another welcome addition. The Artist’s Portrait. A Model Kit is an invitation
for everyone to cross over to the creative side and possibly produce one’s own ingenious piece while tapping into the 20th-century art heritage. This spatial installation includes multiple single-standing panels assembled from diverse fragments, each being informed by various works of public art by Jeff Koons, Alexander Calder, and Richard Serra. While exploring all the details, we may just start playing with them in our minds and building our own arrangements, which would actually mean collaborating in the art-making flow. From the artist’s perspective, this is a way of drawing the observer into a fascinating game where they can grasp the feel of the creative process from the inside.
for everyone to cross over to the creative side and possibly produce one’s own ingenious piece while tapping into the 20th-century art heritage. This spatial installation includes multiple single-standing panels assembled from diverse fragments, each being informed by various works of public art by Jeff Koons, Alexander Calder, and Richard Serra. While exploring all the details, we may just start playing with them in our minds and building our own arrangements, which would actually mean collaborating in the art-making flow. From the artist’s perspective, this is a way of drawing the observer into a fascinating game where they can grasp the feel of the creative process from the inside.
A graduate of the Joseph Backstein Institute of Contemporary Art, Alexander Kashin defines his own creative method as, simply, ‘experimental.’ To clarify, he points out that the implied understatement and lack of clues for a confident attribution to a specific movement or style leaves ample room for interpretation, to the audience and to the artist as well. Alexander’s art has been featured in multiple exhibitions at Moscow-based galleries, including ‘2072: THE FORECAST’ at the ZIL Cultural Center and ‘(powerlessness)(violence)(effort)’ at Omelchenko Gallery, as well as the high-profile GRADUATES ‘22 art show by Zaryadye Park. When first encountered by an observer, his art sparks a range of spontaneous reactions, from amazement to distaste. This is where the actual act of making art happens — with something new coming to life.
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ALEXANDER KASHIN
The Artist’s Portrait.
A model kit
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
In this project, Anastasia Ryzhikova explores the subtle sense of future that a human being experiences as they traverse a myriad of inner states while moving in time. Another point the artist brings into focus here is the multiplicity of choices available at any given point. Every day, from the moment we are awake and our conscious state is on, we face a boundless expanse of ways for our story to unfold. Besides contributing to our self-image, every decision we make also sets off new cascades of inimitable events.
This work emerged from the artist’s self-guided creative study of the laws of the quantum realm as well as the metaphorical temporal pattern theory proposed by a distinguished representative of the Russian avant-garde, Velimir Khlebnikov. In his writings, the acclaimed prophet-poet, known for exploring ‘the continents of time,’ celebrated ‘a land... where time blossoms like the locust tree and moves like a piston, where a superman in a carpenter’s apron saws time into boards and like a turner of wood can shape his own tomorrow.’ He kept probing for that parallel or, possibly, perpendicular dimension where man could reach a pinnacle that would reveal a simultaneous perspective of the past, present, and future, which Khlebnikov believed to be the nature and true meaning of creativity.
The relaxing courtyard at the Skoltech campus just got a boost of inspiration for scientific thought with this spatial work of art, using 365 mirrors to epitomize a striking refraction of the above ideas.
This work emerged from the artist’s self-guided creative study of the laws of the quantum realm as well as the metaphorical temporal pattern theory proposed by a distinguished representative of the Russian avant-garde, Velimir Khlebnikov. In his writings, the acclaimed prophet-poet, known for exploring ‘the continents of time,’ celebrated ‘a land... where time blossoms like the locust tree and moves like a piston, where a superman in a carpenter’s apron saws time into boards and like a turner of wood can shape his own tomorrow.’ He kept probing for that parallel or, possibly, perpendicular dimension where man could reach a pinnacle that would reveal a simultaneous perspective of the past, present, and future, which Khlebnikov believed to be the nature and true meaning of creativity.
The relaxing courtyard at the Skoltech campus just got a boost of inspiration for scientific thought with this spatial work of art, using 365 mirrors to epitomize a striking refraction of the above ideas.
A graduate of the V. I. Surikov Moscow State Academic Art Institute and, later, the Moscow School of Contemporary Art, a faculty of the Universal University, Anastasia Ryzhikova has the academic tradition of both embedded in her style. She pursues her artistic practice at the intersection of her academic background and experimenting with new media. She translates elusive moments of life into works of art, in the same way photography captures those brief instants where time and space are encapsulated forever. With any piece she creates, the starting point is her inner state, led by the unlimited power of personal perception and imagination.
Anastasia Ryzhikova is a member of the Moscow Union of Artists and the Creative Union of Artists of the Russian Federation. Her works have been featured in multiple exhibition projects in Russia and Italy, and her solo art show, ‘The Age of Pioneers,’ was held to great acclaim at the Federation Council headquarters in Moscow and the Kosmos Youth Centre in Korolyov, Russia.
Anastasia Ryzhikova is a member of the Moscow Union of Artists and the Creative Union of Artists of the Russian Federation. Her works have been featured in multiple exhibition projects in Russia and Italy, and her solo art show, ‘The Age of Pioneers,’ was held to great acclaim at the Federation Council headquarters in Moscow and the Kosmos Youth Centre in Korolyov, Russia.
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ANASTASIA RYZHIKOVA
Quantum superposition
Inner courtyard at Skoltech
The Healing Gardens at Skolkovo are a modern park on the grounds of the International Medical Cluster. They were designed to create an interconnected network of restorative spaces, offering diverse settings and activities. True to its concept, this place provides an inviting environment where slowing down and achieving a conscious state of meditative focus and creativity becomes so much easier.
An area of special character like this one appears to be in perfect resonance with the art of Egor Plotnikov who has put years into exploring all the confronting yet correlating meanings of landscape. One refers to the tangible environment with a social perspective, while another stands for the portrayal of natural scenery as a recognized art genre. From this point, it is easy to see the subtly curated, man-made Gardens as a painting brought to life, while its protagonists transition from being mere sculptures of observers to guiding the way.
Positioned in various spots across the Gardens, sculptural figures accompany visitors along their stroll. You will encounter one of them at the entrance, one seated on a rock by the creek, one holding a circular mirror, modifying and drawing the surroundings in, one hiding amidst tall grass and reed, and one balancing on a ball by the slope. Once you climb to the top and get a full view of the Gardens, you will be able to see, once again, the entire constellation of those silent hosts that are now part of the habitat.
An area of special character like this one appears to be in perfect resonance with the art of Egor Plotnikov who has put years into exploring all the confronting yet correlating meanings of landscape. One refers to the tangible environment with a social perspective, while another stands for the portrayal of natural scenery as a recognized art genre. From this point, it is easy to see the subtly curated, man-made Gardens as a painting brought to life, while its protagonists transition from being mere sculptures of observers to guiding the way.
Positioned in various spots across the Gardens, sculptural figures accompany visitors along their stroll. You will encounter one of them at the entrance, one seated on a rock by the creek, one holding a circular mirror, modifying and drawing the surroundings in, one hiding amidst tall grass and reed, and one balancing on a ball by the slope. Once you climb to the top and get a full view of the Gardens, you will be able to see, once again, the entire constellation of those silent hosts that are now part of the habitat.
Egor Plotnikov, born in Kirov, Russia, is a modern artist who practices figurative painting and sculpture, often merging the two. He paints the barren land, the roadside, the buffer space between inhabited areas and the wild, while placing the main character outside of the plane of the canvas, to where they assume the identity of the observer. The result is a piece of art that is looking at itself. What became Egor’s artistic method emerged from his continuous creative pursuit. Aspiring to reimagine the conventional landscape art and ways of approaching it, he focuses on the bigger question of how modernity could be portrayed via space.
Egor is an artist with an extensive record of solo and group exhibitions in multiple venues at home and abroad. His art is owned by private collectors in Russia and worldwide as well as featured in the collections of the Russian Academy of Arts, the Russian Culture Foundation, the Moscow Union of Artists, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Aksenov Family Foundation, and a number of regional museums across Russia.
Egor is an artist with an extensive record of solo and group exhibitions in multiple venues at home and abroad. His art is owned by private collectors in Russia and worldwide as well as featured in the collections of the Russian Academy of Arts, the Russian Culture Foundation, the Moscow Union of Artists, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Aksenov Family Foundation, and a number of regional museums across Russia.
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EGOR PLOTNIKOV
The Search for an Equilibrium
Healing Gardens at the Skolkovo Innovation Center
Some expressive concepts take a specific perspective to be fully embraced. This way, artists make their enshrouded worlds accessible to the ones who are willing to look deeper. As a home for her fictional race of Alphabetians, artist Diana Vouba envisioned an entire distant Planet An. She endowed those imaginary creatures with a power to transform their bodies in every dimension as well as generate multidimensional geometric objects. In her own take on the foundations of the Russian avant-garde, the artist brought her character designs to life as figures with human and animal-like features, painted in patterns of red, black, and white. Installed outside the International Gymnasium Skolkovo, they are made up from an alphabet of symbolic signs, open to countless combinations. Depending on the angle of observation, each Alphabetian shows a different look. Rather than simply watching, we are invited to dive into the mesmerizing experience they offer. Beyond what begins as an interplay of architectural forms, we are visibly drawn into the juxtaposing dynamic of call-and-response with the creators of other futuristic works of art on the grounds of the Skolkovo Innovation Center.
Diana Vouba speaks of herself as a hunter for new beauty, as someone with a mission of seeing the unseen and making it visible to others. A graduate of the Tbilisi State Academy of Art and the Creative Workshops of the USSR Academy of Arts, she debuted with a solo show in 1992, hosted by the Central House of Artists in Moscow. In 1996, Diana was acknowledged with a Gold Medal at the International Festival of Fine Arts in Mahrès, Sfax, Tunisia, for a portrait series of local noblemen. Four years later, her work was featured in the ‘Women in Art' group exhibition in Washington, D.C. In 2021, Diana Vouba was awarded the Zverev Art Prize, established in honor of artist Anatoly Zverev.
In 2015, inspired by the life-affirming ethos of the Russian avant-garde, Diana Vouba created The Alphabet City, an artist-made design set of 64 geometrical signs using the Golden Ratio. Her works are featured in the collections of the Russian Museum, the Russian Academy of Arts, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum, and the Anatoly Zverev Museum. Diana’s recognizable style boasts a vibrant palette contrasted by a reserved, minimalist composition. The passion for music she discovered early in life has permeated her art. It is vividly present in her geometrical abstract paintings with throbbing, almost animated shapes, as well as in The Dimension of Silence series, for which composer Iraida Yusupova notably created a musical score.
In 2015, inspired by the life-affirming ethos of the Russian avant-garde, Diana Vouba created The Alphabet City, an artist-made design set of 64 geometrical signs using the Golden Ratio. Her works are featured in the collections of the Russian Museum, the Russian Academy of Arts, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum, and the Anatoly Zverev Museum. Diana’s recognizable style boasts a vibrant palette contrasted by a reserved, minimalist composition. The passion for music she discovered early in life has permeated her art. It is vividly present in her geometrical abstract paintings with throbbing, almost animated shapes, as well as in The Dimension of Silence series, for which composer Iraida Yusupova notably created a musical score.
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DIANA VOUBA
Alphabetians,
part of the Alphabet city project
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
When exposed to this work of art, the observer may find themselves somewhat immersed into a researcher’s experience. Besides creating an aesthetic presence, this original structure also functions as an instrument: with a wind-vane-type rotating mechanism mounted on top, it enables real-time weather observation, specifically by showing the direction of the wind. Naturally, this is intended as an element of play, or a symbolic representation. There is no denying that, today, anyone can turn to their smartphone for an instant weather report, including air and ground temperatures, humidity and precipitation, wind direction and gust speed — no need to look up and check the wind vane, really.
Through this work, Anton Chumak pays tribute to human labor on the tedious path of technological advancement. The artist offers a reflection on how present-day technology would not have been made possible without
the preceding centuries-long history of rigorous research, from archaic non-instrumental observations of the forces of nature to the latest achievements in science and technology.
For this work, the artist has merged some organic plastic features of plant structures with the technology-driven aesthetic created by polished stainless steel. Multiple references can be spotted in the shape of the resulting object, such as the Lighthouse of Alexandria and medieval Indian temples, as well as the contemporary Matrex (Matryoshka) Business Center building located nearby.
Through this work, Anton Chumak pays tribute to human labor on the tedious path of technological advancement. The artist offers a reflection on how present-day technology would not have been made possible without
the preceding centuries-long history of rigorous research, from archaic non-instrumental observations of the forces of nature to the latest achievements in science and technology.
For this work, the artist has merged some organic plastic features of plant structures with the technology-driven aesthetic created by polished stainless steel. Multiple references can be spotted in the shape of the resulting object, such as the Lighthouse of Alexandria and medieval Indian temples, as well as the contemporary Matrex (Matryoshka) Business Center building located nearby.
Anton Chumak is an artist who practices in a range of media. A graduate of the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, he continues on his creative path, experimenting with graphic art, monumental painting, art installations and objects constructed from steel. He is actively represented by the Moscow-based Krokin Gallery, which has hosted a number of his solo shows in recent years.
Anton Chumak holds a nomination for the Kandinsky Award and the Sergey Kuryokhin Award in contemporary arts. He is a regular participant of diverse museum and institutional exhibitions, biennials, and contemporary art fairs across Russia and beyond. In the beginning of 2023, he designed and implemented a series of interior monumental paintings for Moscow’s Southern River Terminal, reopened following a major reconstruction. For this project, the artist was acknowledged with the Moscow Art Award in the Visual Arts and Architecture category.
Works by Anton Chumak are featured in the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, as well as in numerous private collections in Russia, France, Spain and the Republic of Korea.
Anton Chumak holds a nomination for the Kandinsky Award and the Sergey Kuryokhin Award in contemporary arts. He is a regular participant of diverse museum and institutional exhibitions, biennials, and contemporary art fairs across Russia and beyond. In the beginning of 2023, he designed and implemented a series of interior monumental paintings for Moscow’s Southern River Terminal, reopened following a major reconstruction. For this project, the artist was acknowledged with the Moscow Art Award in the Visual Arts and Architecture category.
Works by Anton Chumak are featured in the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, as well as in numerous private collections in Russia, France, Spain and the Republic of Korea.
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ANTON CHUMAK
Navigator
Playground outside Mille-Feuille
Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
In this latest creation, public artist Marina Zvyagintseva taps into the concept where a human being, treated as a physical phenomenon or, better yet, a quantum world phenomenon, is seen as a wave rather than a particle, permanently in transformation. Perfectly in sync, the Skolkovo Innovation Center is a creative cluster defined by individuals who embrace change and aspire to make the world a better place. This dynamic works like an equalizer as everyone strives to fine-tune their ‘frequency' and align with others.
On the Same Wavelength by Marina Zvyagintseva is a work of public art that expands the series where the artist focuses on merging the opposites through an authentic marbling technique she names ‘biotypia,' performed on water in motion. As they are floated onto the surface, paints in complementary colors work into an indivisible pattern, epitomizing the beauty of how diverse perspectives unite. The synergy happens at the level of the senses, bypassing logical reasoning.
Interacting with this art piece leads the observer to delve into their inner world. Meanwhile, the bench with backrests mimicking a sound wave diagram brings people closer, creating a setting where sharing thoughts, ideas or music becomes natural. Featuring a reversed seating design, this outdoor installation offers a choice to chill out and relax or engage in play. Anyone who takes a seat on the bench will find themselves face to face with another person — in this way, the artist helps promote interaction between Skolkovo Innovation Center residents.
On the Same Wavelength by Marina Zvyagintseva is a work of public art that expands the series where the artist focuses on merging the opposites through an authentic marbling technique she names ‘biotypia,' performed on water in motion. As they are floated onto the surface, paints in complementary colors work into an indivisible pattern, epitomizing the beauty of how diverse perspectives unite. The synergy happens at the level of the senses, bypassing logical reasoning.
Interacting with this art piece leads the observer to delve into their inner world. Meanwhile, the bench with backrests mimicking a sound wave diagram brings people closer, creating a setting where sharing thoughts, ideas or music becomes natural. Featuring a reversed seating design, this outdoor installation offers a choice to chill out and relax or engage in play. Anyone who takes a seat on the bench will find themselves face to face with another person — in this way, the artist helps promote interaction between Skolkovo Innovation Center residents.
Acclaimed as one of the founders of public art in Russia, Marina Zvyagintseva is the initiator and curator of the Spalny Rayon (‘Residential Community') Art Program, as well as a member of the Creative Union of the Artists of Russia and the Moscow Union of Artists. As her signature medium, she uses ‘biotypia,' an authentic performative marbling technique on water in motion.
In 2009, the artist took her practice outdoors. Since then, she has been bringing her ideas to life in the form of massive art installations and experiences. Over these past 15 years, she has built a creative record of transforming public spaces, with over 50 art installations implemented in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Tula, Tver, and Norilsk. In 2019, Marina started working on a series centered around ‘locked feelings' and the social aspects of interpersonal relationships.
For her diverse body of work, Marina Zvyagintseva has received a high level of recognition from the art community, both locally and internationally. She has been nominated for the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award, the ARCHIWOOD Award, and the VII Innovation Prize All-Russian Competition in the Field of Contemporary Visual Arts. She is a winner of the ADD AWARDS and a holder of Certificates of Special Mention by the Golden Trezzini Awards.
In 2009, the artist took her practice outdoors. Since then, she has been bringing her ideas to life in the form of massive art installations and experiences. Over these past 15 years, she has built a creative record of transforming public spaces, with over 50 art installations implemented in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Tula, Tver, and Norilsk. In 2019, Marina started working on a series centered around ‘locked feelings' and the social aspects of interpersonal relationships.
For her diverse body of work, Marina Zvyagintseva has received a high level of recognition from the art community, both locally and internationally. She has been nominated for the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award, the ARCHIWOOD Award, and the VII Innovation Prize All-Russian Competition in the Field of Contemporary Visual Arts. She is a winner of the ADD AWARDS and a holder of Certificates of Special Mention by the Golden Trezzini Awards.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
MARINA ZVYAGINTSEVA
On the Same Wavelength
Playground outside Mille-Feuille
Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
A Machine in the Woods was originally conceived by Francisco Infante-Arana and Nonna Goryunova back in 1988 and first implemented as an art installation in October 1991, at the Moscow-based Regina Gallery. With this project, the creative duo left the public astounded. Their signature concept of the ‘artifact,’ relying on the creative controversy of introducing an artificial object into a natural environment, seemed to have lost its usual magnitude when brought into an enclosed space. Nevertheless, the work was in alignment with all of the principles defining an ‘artifact.’ It represented an artificial abstract geometrical system composed in equal parts of selected materials and refractions of ambient light and color.
In this custom recreation of the work for the 2024 edition of the Here and Now Festival, the installation was integrated into the landscape of the Skolkovo Innovation Center where it revealed itself from an entirely new perspective.
The artifact here is the ‘machine’ with a structure shaped like the Great Bear constellation, and it is no longer detached nor isolated from the natural environment. Quite the opposite: some remarkable dynamic is playing out between the handcrafted object and the space around it, and we can spot changes in it at different times of the day and throughout the seasons. What makes this work exquisite is that, unlike most other pieces created by the same tandem of artists, it invites the observer to transition from the role of a mere bystander to that of a hands-on actor, with a power to control the velocity and intensity of how this device interacts with its surroundings.
In this custom recreation of the work for the 2024 edition of the Here and Now Festival, the installation was integrated into the landscape of the Skolkovo Innovation Center where it revealed itself from an entirely new perspective.
The artifact here is the ‘machine’ with a structure shaped like the Great Bear constellation, and it is no longer detached nor isolated from the natural environment. Quite the opposite: some remarkable dynamic is playing out between the handcrafted object and the space around it, and we can spot changes in it at different times of the day and throughout the seasons. What makes this work exquisite is that, unlike most other pieces created by the same tandem of artists, it invites the observer to transition from the role of a mere bystander to that of a hands-on actor, with a power to control the velocity and intensity of how this device interacts with its surroundings.
Acclaimed as the pioneers of kinetic art in Russia, Francisco Infante-Arana and Nonna Goryunova are some of the world’s most well-known and highly recognized kinetic artists of Russian origins.
Francisco, born in 1943, comes from the Vasilyevka Village of Saratov Region, while Nonna, born in 1944, is a Moscow native. Both are graduates of the Moscow Higher Industrial and Applied Arts College (the former Stroganov School). In his student years, 1962 to 1964, Infante-Arana was part of the Artists Community for Geometrical and Metaphysical Art. 1968 marked the start of his creative partnership with Nonna Goryunova, whereas 1970 saw the artists launch an alliance named Argo, with a mission to design artificial systems mirroring natural phenomena. The emergence of this collaboration enjoyed heightened visibility on the avant-garde scene of the time. Five years later, the Infante-Arana/Goryunova duo first initiated an art intrusion into the pristine environment: by installing their crafted geometrical objects amidst a natural landscape, they created a collision of the organic versus the man-made. Across the years, they have turned to the fields, the woods, the beaches, and the sky above the horizon as their natural context. Meanwhile, the ‘artifacts’ they brought in were constructed from film, colored paper, fishing line, and mirrors. Introductive moments when the entire setup worked as intended were captured using a photo camera, and a limited edition of prints was produced later. This practice of an all-encompassing creative experimentation has run through the entire body of work produced by this team of artists, and they keep honing their concept of the ‘artifact’ to this day.
Together, Francisco Infante-Arana and Nonna Goryunova have showcased their art at over three hundred exhibitions across Russia and beyond. Their works are featured in prominent museums and private collections internationally. They are currently based and pursuing their creative practices in Moscow.
Francisco, born in 1943, comes from the Vasilyevka Village of Saratov Region, while Nonna, born in 1944, is a Moscow native. Both are graduates of the Moscow Higher Industrial and Applied Arts College (the former Stroganov School). In his student years, 1962 to 1964, Infante-Arana was part of the Artists Community for Geometrical and Metaphysical Art. 1968 marked the start of his creative partnership with Nonna Goryunova, whereas 1970 saw the artists launch an alliance named Argo, with a mission to design artificial systems mirroring natural phenomena. The emergence of this collaboration enjoyed heightened visibility on the avant-garde scene of the time. Five years later, the Infante-Arana/Goryunova duo first initiated an art intrusion into the pristine environment: by installing their crafted geometrical objects amidst a natural landscape, they created a collision of the organic versus the man-made. Across the years, they have turned to the fields, the woods, the beaches, and the sky above the horizon as their natural context. Meanwhile, the ‘artifacts’ they brought in were constructed from film, colored paper, fishing line, and mirrors. Introductive moments when the entire setup worked as intended were captured using a photo camera, and a limited edition of prints was produced later. This practice of an all-encompassing creative experimentation has run through the entire body of work produced by this team of artists, and they keep honing their concept of the ‘artifact’ to this day.
Together, Francisco Infante-Arana and Nonna Goryunova have showcased their art at over three hundred exhibitions across Russia and beyond. Their works are featured in prominent museums and private collections internationally. They are currently based and pursuing their creative practices in Moscow.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
FRANCISCO INFANTE-ARANA AND NONNA GORYUNOVA
A Machine in the Woods 1991/2024
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
In the beginning was the Word John 1:1
Through this work, Lev Efimov is making a reference to the Big Bang theory — more specifically, to the cosmological singularity, claimed to be the universe’s point of origin. The artist found inspiration in the concept of how the dense single point of existence burst into an infinite expansion of self-propagating worlds. The shape of a sphere, chosen by the artist as an embodiment of that idea, bears a naturally perceived resemblance to the atom or the future planets. The mirror-like outer surface further supports the artist’s intention: while the object demonstrates a swelling dynamic, its reflective skin seems to be literally pulling the surroundings in.
Lev Efimov is well-known for his allegorical approach to interpretation. While reassembling scattered fragments of impressions left by shapes, colors, and materials, he never aims for a purely physical recreation of beauty. Instead, he strives to capture the emotion, or the spirit, conveyed by the object in question. He seems to be bringing abstract material to life by breathing energy into it. In Lev Efimov’s art, we discover a balance of the familiar and the uncommon, the conventional and the innovative, the natural and the artificial, through which we are immersed into a somewhat alternative realm where coincidental combinations, concepts, and solutions become our tools for achieving a sense of freedom in our comprehension of the world.
Through this work, Lev Efimov is making a reference to the Big Bang theory — more specifically, to the cosmological singularity, claimed to be the universe’s point of origin. The artist found inspiration in the concept of how the dense single point of existence burst into an infinite expansion of self-propagating worlds. The shape of a sphere, chosen by the artist as an embodiment of that idea, bears a naturally perceived resemblance to the atom or the future planets. The mirror-like outer surface further supports the artist’s intention: while the object demonstrates a swelling dynamic, its reflective skin seems to be literally pulling the surroundings in.
Lev Efimov is well-known for his allegorical approach to interpretation. While reassembling scattered fragments of impressions left by shapes, colors, and materials, he never aims for a purely physical recreation of beauty. Instead, he strives to capture the emotion, or the spirit, conveyed by the object in question. He seems to be bringing abstract material to life by breathing energy into it. In Lev Efimov’s art, we discover a balance of the familiar and the uncommon, the conventional and the innovative, the natural and the artificial, through which we are immersed into a somewhat alternative realm where coincidental combinations, concepts, and solutions become our tools for achieving a sense of freedom in our comprehension of the world.
Lev Efimov is a cross-disciplinary artist who experiments across a variety of media such as painting, sculpture, and installation art. Having debuted as a street artist in his native town of Pskov, he has come a long way since, becoming an internationally acclaimed fashion photographer who has shot for the likes of Grazia, Vogue, Tatler, and more. A professional background in photography, coupled with an enthusiasm for classical architecture, gave rise to his creative passion for voluminous plastic shapes as well as exploring their interplay with space. Lev Efimov believes in leaving ample room for the power of randomness to manifest itself through artistic creation. «I am often left amazed at what is coming to life as I’m working, and, most of the time, every project means improvisation where the material plays its part alongside my own,» the artist explains.
Lev Efimov is currently represented by the Moscow-based Surface Lab Art Gallery. He also runs his own sculptor’s studio in Moscow, opened in 2021. At various times, his works of public art have graced the landscaped areas of the Arkhangelskoye Estate and Museum as well as the Gorky Park of Moscow. Some of Lev Efimov’s creations are permanently on display at the Muzeon Art Park as well as on the grounds of Headliner Residences in Moscow.
Lev Efimov is currently represented by the Moscow-based Surface Lab Art Gallery. He also runs his own sculptor’s studio in Moscow, opened in 2021. At various times, his works of public art have graced the landscaped areas of the Arkhangelskoye Estate and Museum as well as the Gorky Park of Moscow. Some of Lev Efimov’s creations are permanently on display at the Muzeon Art Park as well as on the grounds of Headliner Residences in Moscow.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
LEV EFIMOV
THE WORD
(THE ATOM)
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
With the support of the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE), Russian artist Nastya Miro and the Space-π Scientific and Educational Project have together launched Octonautics, a project with a social and cultural mission. The project framework envisions the space launch of a scaled-down sculpture of Octo-Pax the Octopus on board ArcticSat, a CubeSat 3U class satellite co-created by Sputnix, along with a payload that includes a DeCoR-2 versatile cosmic radiation detector and a receiver for Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals used to track vessels. In addition to the above, a public art version of the featured sculpture will be installed on the grounds of the Skolkovo Innovation Center in collaboration with the Here and Now’24 Festival. At its foundation, the project aspires to provide a guiding framework for the nation’s culture to evolve towards a higher standard of morality, and for the society to consolidate around a shared commitment to paramount values and goals.
The Octonautics Project beautifully exemplifies the synergy between art, science, and advanced technology. For Nastya Miro, the aim was to raise awareness of the issue of orbital pollution. In the wild, octopuses are crucial to maintaining the environmental balance of marine habitats. In a similar way, Octo-Pax the Octopus embodies the pressing need for mitigating space debris. “This sculpture is more than a piece of art. The inspiration behind it was a personal feeling of affection for a very special creature, an octopus named Dafna whom I visited a few times throughout the year at the Crocus City Oceanarium where she lives. At some point, I realized she started to recognize me. Whenever I came and knocked on her tank, she would always swim up and say hi. That was probably the most tender and heart-warming part of the whole experience. The tiny octopus who became the hero of this project literally breathed life into my paintings and sculpture,” the artist said. Throughout the satellite’s four-year mission in orbit around the Earth, radio enthusiasts from all over the world will be able to access and interpret its signals, while the interior on-board camera will provide live footage of Octo-Pax the Octopus via dedicated broadcasting services.
The Octonautics Project beautifully exemplifies the synergy between art, science, and advanced technology. For Nastya Miro, the aim was to raise awareness of the issue of orbital pollution. In the wild, octopuses are crucial to maintaining the environmental balance of marine habitats. In a similar way, Octo-Pax the Octopus embodies the pressing need for mitigating space debris. “This sculpture is more than a piece of art. The inspiration behind it was a personal feeling of affection for a very special creature, an octopus named Dafna whom I visited a few times throughout the year at the Crocus City Oceanarium where she lives. At some point, I realized she started to recognize me. Whenever I came and knocked on her tank, she would always swim up and say hi. That was probably the most tender and heart-warming part of the whole experience. The tiny octopus who became the hero of this project literally breathed life into my paintings and sculpture,” the artist said. Throughout the satellite’s four-year mission in orbit around the Earth, radio enthusiasts from all over the world will be able to access and interpret its signals, while the interior on-board camera will provide live footage of Octo-Pax the Octopus via dedicated broadcasting services.
Nastya Miro is a Russian artist who works across a range of media including video, sculpture, and installation art. Her style of choice, however, is realism, and she practices it with technique as her top priority . She is committed to elevating tempera paints to the significance they deserve while creating vivid examples of modern painting. Without limiting herself to the classical genres of portraiture and landscape, Nastya explores the canons of painting while reimagining them in a recognizable style of her own, highly detailed and showing a meticulous understanding of the subject matter. Over the past few years, the artist has been drawn to the subject of the space, repeatedly making it the focus of her exhibitionprojects.
Nastya Miro is a graduate of the Sergey Andriaka School of Watercolor, the Studio School of Variety Arts, Cinema and Television, as well as the Russian State University of Cinematography Named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK). To date, she has maintained an active exhibition agenda for over twelve years, taking part in more than thirty solo and group projects as well as some major contemporary art fairs in Russia and beyond. These have included ‘A New Day’ (2023) and ‘Another Happy Life’ (2023) at the Kupol Gallery (Moscow), ‘The Homecoming’ at the Tirazh Gallery (2023, Moscow), ‘A 205-Minute Triumph’ at the State History Museum of Southern Urals (2023, Chelyabinsk) and the Ural Vision Gallery (2023, Yekaterinburg), ‘A Clash with the Abyss’ hosted by the Cube.Moscow art platform (2022, Moscow), ‘A Trajectory of the Energy’ at the JART Gallery (2022, Moscow), ‘Back in Space’ at the Pro Art’s Gallery (2021, Kaluga), ‘Duo Cognito’ at the SENSE Gallery (2020, Moscow), ‘THE NOISE’ included on the parallel program of the 6th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art (2018, Moscow), and more. Expanding beyond the conventional boundaries of art shows, Nastya Miro creates her projects at the intersection of cultural, technical, and historical research.
Nastya Miro is a graduate of the Sergey Andriaka School of Watercolor, the Studio School of Variety Arts, Cinema and Television, as well as the Russian State University of Cinematography Named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK). To date, she has maintained an active exhibition agenda for over twelve years, taking part in more than thirty solo and group projects as well as some major contemporary art fairs in Russia and beyond. These have included ‘A New Day’ (2023) and ‘Another Happy Life’ (2023) at the Kupol Gallery (Moscow), ‘The Homecoming’ at the Tirazh Gallery (2023, Moscow), ‘A 205-Minute Triumph’ at the State History Museum of Southern Urals (2023, Chelyabinsk) and the Ural Vision Gallery (2023, Yekaterinburg), ‘A Clash with the Abyss’ hosted by the Cube.Moscow art platform (2022, Moscow), ‘A Trajectory of the Energy’ at the JART Gallery (2022, Moscow), ‘Back in Space’ at the Pro Art’s Gallery (2021, Kaluga), ‘Duo Cognito’ at the SENSE Gallery (2020, Moscow), ‘THE NOISE’ included on the parallel program of the 6th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art (2018, Moscow), and more. Expanding beyond the conventional boundaries of art shows, Nastya Miro creates her projects at the intersection of cultural, technical, and historical research.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
NASTYA MIRO
Octonautics
Healing Gardens at the Skolkovo Innovation Center
In proximity to the Skolka School, the campus of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology is hosting another work of art presented by the Here and Now’24 Festival. The custom-made incarnation of a character by artist Taras “Yoom” Zheltyshev belongs to the Yoomoota art universe, a parallel dimension complete with dozens of planets and their one-of-a- kind dwellers with revealing names such as Pillman, Candy Lady, Lymphochair, and others. The inhabitants of this realm mirror the fantastical inner world of mankind as they embody a variety of experiences making up our lives as humans. Using original production technology, those whimsical characters are brought to life as artworks, each with their own legend and background.
Woooo are admirable creatures lost on the Planet of Void. Having been something completely different in their past, they got affected by the thick fog on the planet, causing them to transform into standing lamps. Their light wafts a sense of mystery while their sound that goes “woooo” has a calling feel to it. Far from being just a call out into the unknown, it’s their form of communicating with the world so they can find their way out of the dense fog. Some of them have been able to get out and are now spreading their light helping locals navigate the city.
Some may see Woooo lamps as nothing more than lighting fixtures. To those who are aware of their essence, however, they are exceptional creatures with a special purpose and desire to help others. With their light, they make it easier to navigate the dusk and hard-to-reach areas where relying on vision alone is not enough — something that resonates profoundly with the mission pursued by the Skolkovo Innovation Center residents.
Woooo are admirable creatures lost on the Planet of Void. Having been something completely different in their past, they got affected by the thick fog on the planet, causing them to transform into standing lamps. Their light wafts a sense of mystery while their sound that goes “woooo” has a calling feel to it. Far from being just a call out into the unknown, it’s their form of communicating with the world so they can find their way out of the dense fog. Some of them have been able to get out and are now spreading their light helping locals navigate the city.
Some may see Woooo lamps as nothing more than lighting fixtures. To those who are aware of their essence, however, they are exceptional creatures with a special purpose and desire to help others. With their light, they make it easier to navigate the dusk and hard-to-reach areas where relying on vision alone is not enough — something that resonates profoundly with the mission pursued by the Skolkovo Innovation Center residents.
Taras Zheltyshev, also known as Taras Yoom, is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist. Four years into his medical studies, he made the decision to steer away and pursue an artist’s career instead. Integrating his knowledge of natural sciences into his creativity and drawing inspiration from the methodology of Leonardo da Vinci, Taras treats art as a tool for exploring the interplay between humanity and the natural world. He defines his style as biomorphic surrealism.
From 2022 onwards, Taras Yoom has been pursuing his creative practice from the comfort of his own full-cycle workshop while also gaining a fast-growing visibility in the art market both locally and internationally. In September 2023, one of his sculptures was taken on a journey to the International Space Station, and a cosmic documentary telling the story was later screened at the artist’s solo show at Asia’s largest shopping mall, ICONSIAM. Taras Yoom’s creations have been showcased at some of the leading contemporary art fairs and exhibitions worldwide. His art is featured in the collections of the Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the Red Dot Design Museum.
For his diverse body of work, Taras Yoom has been recognized with a number of esteemed design accolades, including International Design Awards, A' Design Award, and Good Design Awards, among others. His sculptures, paintings, and collectible design objects have been spotlighted in publications such as Financial Times, Hypebeast, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Elle Decoration, and more.
From 2022 onwards, Taras Yoom has been pursuing his creative practice from the comfort of his own full-cycle workshop while also gaining a fast-growing visibility in the art market both locally and internationally. In September 2023, one of his sculptures was taken on a journey to the International Space Station, and a cosmic documentary telling the story was later screened at the artist’s solo show at Asia’s largest shopping mall, ICONSIAM. Taras Yoom’s creations have been showcased at some of the leading contemporary art fairs and exhibitions worldwide. His art is featured in the collections of the Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the Red Dot Design Museum.
For his diverse body of work, Taras Yoom has been recognized with a number of esteemed design accolades, including International Design Awards, A' Design Award, and Good Design Awards, among others. His sculptures, paintings, and collectible design objects have been spotlighted in publications such as Financial Times, Hypebeast, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Elle Decoration, and more.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
TARAS ZHELTYSHEV (TARAS YOOM)
WOOOO
Healing Gardens at the Skoltech Innovation Center and Skoltech School
Custom-made for the Here and Now’24 Public Art Festival, Retrograde Analysis by Elena Izvolskya is a boundless chessboard mimicking the Möbius band, a three- dimensional shape with a single looped surface. While it has the appearance of an uncomplicated geometrical puzzle, this object may also be approached as a medium where the mundane concerns of day-to-day life merge with the more profound philosophical musings on destiny, freedom of choice, and the essence of reality.
As she projects her immediate environment onto a chessboard, the artist reflects upon how ethics and moral standards are evolving for today’s society where people are “playing their games” as well, while it becomes increasingly taxing as rules keep changing along the way. Turning to the game of chess as her context for this work was supported by the idea of how this game inherently creates multifaceted choice circumstances.
*A form of recreational chess, retrograde analysis presents players with the task of analyzing a given position on the board and determining which moves were played leading up to it, based on the rules of the game. The object of art created by Elena Izvolskya rolls out a fictional game of chess, offering space for an intellectual workout by way of tracing the moves back to the start or towards the end of the provisional game.
As she projects her immediate environment onto a chessboard, the artist reflects upon how ethics and moral standards are evolving for today’s society where people are “playing their games” as well, while it becomes increasingly taxing as rules keep changing along the way. Turning to the game of chess as her context for this work was supported by the idea of how this game inherently creates multifaceted choice circumstances.
*A form of recreational chess, retrograde analysis presents players with the task of analyzing a given position on the board and determining which moves were played leading up to it, based on the rules of the game. The object of art created by Elena Izvolskya rolls out a fictional game of chess, offering space for an intellectual workout by way of tracing the moves back to the start or towards the end of the provisional game.
Elena Izvolskya is a cross-disciplinary artist who focuses on the challenges of binary oppositions, the diverse issues of ethics and morality, and the environmental agenda. As part of her creative journey, Elena experiments across a range of media including painting, objects, installations, readymades, and performance practices. She is known for creating projects with embedded elements of play and encrypted text messages.
Elena is a graduate of the Joseph Backstein Institute of Contemporary Art. Her creative record to date includes more than a dozen group and solo exhibitions in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Chelyabinsk, as well as the POLE Art Residency Program. She currently resides and works in Ufa, Russia.
Elena is a graduate of the Joseph Backstein Institute of Contemporary Art. Her creative record to date includes more than a dozen group and solo exhibitions in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Chelyabinsk, as well as the POLE Art Residency Program. She currently resides and works in Ufa, Russia.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
ELENA IZVOLSKAYA
RETROGRADE ANALYSIS
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center