Applications welcome for the 2025 project edition
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Here and Now
moscow
CONTEMPORARY
ART ON CITY
STREETS
ART ON CITY
STREETS
Here and Now, the contemporary art show held annually in Moscow, is celebrating its 6th edition in 2024. For the fourth time in a row, it is happening outdoors. The exhibited works of art integrate seamlessly into the urban landscape, bringing contemporary art closer to city residents.
The current edition is hosted by the Skolkovo Innovation Center, with the entire cast of exhibits installed within a single location. Prompted by the genius loci, the festival explores connections between science and art as its keynote idea. Being Russia’s largest innovation hub today, Skolkovo plays a major part in providing a solid foundation for the national economy. It supports numerous startups in growing businesses focused on supplying domestically made technology-intensive products for the manufacturing industry, healthcare, transportation, IT, and other applications.
Together, Zaryadye Park the operator and Skolkovo Innovation Center the host of the Here and Now festival have developed an art trail linking nearly two dozen artworks on show. As in the previous year, the festival features artists coming from a broad geography across Russia, including Moscow. Alongside objects of art and murals premiering in this exhibition, the selection includes works by five participants of the festival’s earlier editions. The choice of locations for showcasing art on the grounds of Skolkovo naturally gravitated towards community anchor points, such as parks and gardens, main streets and boulevards, campuses and outdoor areas of office buildings.
Here and Now is all about transforming familiar urban landscapes with contemporary art, turning them from ordinary into unique and vivid, in touch with their architectural surroundings. We do it with a passion for making the map of Moscow shine with more cultural attraction spots every year.
The current edition is hosted by the Skolkovo Innovation Center, with the entire cast of exhibits installed within a single location. Prompted by the genius loci, the festival explores connections between science and art as its keynote idea. Being Russia’s largest innovation hub today, Skolkovo plays a major part in providing a solid foundation for the national economy. It supports numerous startups in growing businesses focused on supplying domestically made technology-intensive products for the manufacturing industry, healthcare, transportation, IT, and other applications.
Together, Zaryadye Park the operator and Skolkovo Innovation Center the host of the Here and Now festival have developed an art trail linking nearly two dozen artworks on show. As in the previous year, the festival features artists coming from a broad geography across Russia, including Moscow. Alongside objects of art and murals premiering in this exhibition, the selection includes works by five participants of the festival’s earlier editions. The choice of locations for showcasing art on the grounds of Skolkovo naturally gravitated towards community anchor points, such as parks and gardens, main streets and boulevards, campuses and outdoor areas of office buildings.
Here and Now is all about transforming familiar urban landscapes with contemporary art, turning them from ordinary into unique and vivid, in touch with their architectural surroundings. We do it with a passion for making the map of Moscow shine with more cultural attraction spots every year.
CONTEMPORARY
ART ON CITY
STREETS
ART ON CITY
STREETS
Here and Now, the contemporary art show held annually in Moscow, is celebrating its 6th edition in 2024. For the fourth time in a row, it is happening outdoors. The exhibited works of art integrate seamlessly into the urban landscape, bringing contemporary art closer to city residents.
The current edition is hosted by the Skolkovo Innovation Center, with the entire cast of exhibits installed within a single location. Prompted by the genius loci, the festival explores connections between science and art as its keynote idea. Being Russia’s largest innovation hub today, Skolkovo plays a major part in providing a solid foundation for the national economy. It supports numerous startups in growing businesses focused on supplying domestically made technology-intensive products for the manufacturing industry, healthcare, transportation, IT, and other applications.
Together, Zaryadye Park the operator and Skolkovo Innovation Center the host of the Here and Now festival have developed an art trail linking nearly two dozen artworks on show. As in the previous year, the festival features artists coming from a broad geography across Russia, including Moscow. Alongside objects of art and murals premiering in this exhibition, the selection includes works by five participants of the festival’s earlier editions. The choice of locations for showcasing art on the grounds of Skolkovo naturally gravitated towards community anchor points, such as parks and gardens, main streets and boulevards, campuses and outdoor areas of office buildings.
Here and Now is all about transforming familiar urban landscapes with contemporary art, turning them from ordinary into unique and vivid, in touch with their architectural surroundings. We do it with a passion for making the map of Moscow shine with more cultural attraction spots every year.
The current edition is hosted by the Skolkovo Innovation Center, with the entire cast of exhibits installed within a single location. Prompted by the genius loci, the festival explores connections between science and art as its keynote idea. Being Russia’s largest innovation hub today, Skolkovo plays a major part in providing a solid foundation for the national economy. It supports numerous startups in growing businesses focused on supplying domestically made technology-intensive products for the manufacturing industry, healthcare, transportation, IT, and other applications.
Together, Zaryadye Park the operator and Skolkovo Innovation Center the host of the Here and Now festival have developed an art trail linking nearly two dozen artworks on show. As in the previous year, the festival features artists coming from a broad geography across Russia, including Moscow. Alongside objects of art and murals premiering in this exhibition, the selection includes works by five participants of the festival’s earlier editions. The choice of locations for showcasing art on the grounds of Skolkovo naturally gravitated towards community anchor points, such as parks and gardens, main streets and boulevards, campuses and outdoor areas of office buildings.
Here and Now is all about transforming familiar urban landscapes with contemporary art, turning them from ordinary into unique and vivid, in touch with their architectural surroundings. We do it with a passion for making the map of Moscow shine with more cultural attraction spots every year.
Popularise contemporary art as an integral part of the urban landscape
1
Stimulate the cultural and social dynamics of urban public spaces while engaging city residents into an exploration of Russian history and culture
2
Decentralise and activate the cultural map of various city areas while putting more iconic attractions on the map
3
Support and encourage the development of Russia’s regional art scene
4
Project Objectives
5
Support young art
Popularise contemporary art as an integral part of the urban landscape
Stimulate the cultural and social dynamics of urban public spaces while engaging city residents into an exploration of Russian history and culture
Decentralise and activate the cultural map of various city areas while putting more iconic attractions on the map
Support and encourage the development of Russia’s regional art scene
Рroject Objectives
1
3
4
2
5
Support young art
Map of
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Map of
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Map of
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Objects and Artists
KRASIL MAKAR
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
THE SPACE CHAMOMILE
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
POLINA FROLOVA
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
A BOUQUET OF WILDFLOWERS
North-east section of the area between Stratos and Amalthea Business Centers
ALEXANDER KASHIN
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.
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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ABOUT THE WORK
THE ARTIST’S PORTRAIT. A MODEL KIT
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ANASTASIA RYZHIKOVA
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.
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.
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ABOUT THE WORK
QUANTUM SUPERPOSITION
Inner courtyard at Skoltech
EGOR PLOTNIKOV
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.
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.
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ABOUT THE WORK
THE SEARCH FOR AN EQUILIBRIUM
Healing Gardens at the Skolkovo Innovation Center
DIANA VOUBA
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.
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ALPHABETIANS, PART OF THE ALPHABET CITY PROJECT
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
ANTON CHUMAK
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
Navigator
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
MARINA ZVYAGINTSEVA
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.
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.
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ABOUT THE WORK
ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
FRANCISCO INFANTE-ARANA AND NONNA GORYUNOVA
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ABOUT THE WORK
A MACHINE IN THE WOODS 1991/2024
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
Objects and Artists
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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 SPACE CHAMOMILE
KRASIL MAKAR
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
A BOUQUET
OF WILDFLOWERS
OF WILDFLOWERS
POLINA FROLOVA
North-east section of the area between Stratos and Amalthea Business Centers
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
THE ARTIST’S PORTRAIT.
A MODEL KIT
A MODEL KIT
ALEXANDER KASHIN
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
QUANTUM SUPERPOSITION
ANASTASIA RYZHIKOVA
Inner courtyard at Skoltech
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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 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
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
THE SEARCH FOR AN EQUILIBRIUM
EGOR PLOTNIKOV
Healing Gardens at the Skolkovo Innovation Center
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
ALPHABETIANS,PART OF THE ALPHABET CITY PROJECT
DIANA VOUBA
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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 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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
Navigator
ANTON CHUMAK
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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
MARINA ZVYAGINTSEVA
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
A machine in the woods 1991/2024
FRANCISCO INFANTE-ARANA AND NONNA GORYUNOVA
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo
Map of Murals
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Map of Murals
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Map of Murals
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Map of Murals
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Map of Murals
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Map of Murals
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
UNTITLED
Central Park 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.
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 159 °F Gallerie at Cube.Moscow.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE WORK
A REMINISCENCE
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Murals
and Artists
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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 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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
KALEIDOSCOPE
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ILYA SLAK
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
OF THE SCREEN
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
IVAN NINETY
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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 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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
1+1=3’
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
VLADISLAV DAKES
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
"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.
"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.
THE CREATOR
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ANDREY OLENEV
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
CHANGE
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
ANATOLY AKUE
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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.
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.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
UNTITLED
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
OLGA 'INEY' CHIKINA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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 159 °F Gallerie at Cube.Moscow.
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 159 °F Gallerie at Cube.Moscow.
ABOUT THE WORK
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.
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.
A REMINISCENCE’
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
EVGENY 'JÖN' MALYSHEV
Programme
Why the City Needs Street Art, a Panel Discussion
Part of the Cross-Industry Conference for Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the parallel Public Awareness Programme of the Here and Now Festival 2024
Today, art is growing its presence outside cultural institutions and permeating the urban landscape. Who are the artists creating in the streets, and what is their method? How do they integrate into their environment and then succeed in reorganising it?
This discussion saw members of the art community exchange their ideas on how public art adds to the perceived value of a location while also sparking changes in a city’s cultural and architectural codes.
Speakers: Anna Klets, Yulia Safronova, Varvara Prozorova
Moderator: Anna Malik-Korolenkova
Coordinator: Anastasia Solovyova In partnership with the STENOGRAFFIA Festival
Part of the Cross-Industry Conference for Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the parallel Public Awareness Programme of the Here and Now Festival 2024
Today, art is growing its presence outside cultural institutions and permeating the urban landscape. Who are the artists creating in the streets, and what is their method? How do they integrate into their environment and then succeed in reorganising it?
This discussion saw members of the art community exchange their ideas on how public art adds to the perceived value of a location while also sparking changes in a city’s cultural and architectural codes.
Speakers: Anna Klets, Yulia Safronova, Varvara Prozorova
Moderator: Anna Malik-Korolenkova
Coordinator: Anastasia Solovyova In partnership with the STENOGRAFFIA Festival
04.08
The Picnic Talks Programme at The Picnic by Afisha, Luzhniki Olympic Complex
Implementation of the following murals:
The Creator by Andrey Olenev
A Reminiscence by Evgeny “Jön” Malyshev
Untitled by Olga “INEY” Chikina
Change by Anatoly Akue
On the Other Side of the Screen by Ivan Ninety
1+1=3 by Vladislav Dakes
Kaleidoscope by Ilya Slak
The Creator by Andrey Olenev
A Reminiscence by Evgeny “Jön” Malyshev
Untitled by Olga “INEY” Chikina
Change by Anatoly Akue
On the Other Side of the Screen by Ivan Ninety
1+1=3 by Vladislav Dakes
Kaleidoscope by Ilya Slak
26.08—04.09
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of The Space Chamomile
by Krasil Makar
by Krasil Makar
29.08
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of Quantum Superposition
by Anastasia Ryzhikova
by Anastasia Ryzhikova
30.08
Inner courtyard at Skoltech, Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of The Artist’s Portrait.
A Model Kit by Alexander Kashin
A Model Kit by Alexander Kashin
30.08
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of A Bouquet of Wildflowers
by Polina Frolova
by Polina Frolova
01.09
North-east section of the area between Stratos and Amalthea Business Centers at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of The Search for an Equilibrium
by Egor Plotnikov
by Egor Plotnikov
02.09
Healing Gardens at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of Alphabetians
by Diana Vouba
by Diana Vouba
03.09
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo at
Skolkovo Innovation Center
Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of A Machine in the Woods by Francisco Infante-Arana and Nonna Goryunova
04.10—08.10
Skolkovo Innovation Center, Blaise Pascal St. 2
Installation of Navigator by Anton Chumak
07.10
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of On the Same Wavelength
by Marina Zvyagintseva
by Marina Zvyagintseva
09.10—10.10
Skolkovo Innovation Center, Malevich St. 2 building 5
The Here and Now’24 Mid-Project Event
12.10
Skolkovo Innovation Center
Programme
Why the City Needs Street Art, a Panel Discussion
Part of the Cross-Industry Conference for Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the parallel Public Awareness Programme of the Here and Now Festival 2024
Today, art is growing its presence outside cultural institutions and permeating the urban landscape. Who are the artists creating in the streets, and what is their method? How do they integrate into their environment and then succeed in reorganising it?
This discussion saw members of the art community exchange their ideas on how public art adds to the perceived value of a location while also sparking changes in a city’s cultural and architectural codes.
Speakers: Anna Klets, Yulia Safronova, Varvara Prozorova
Moderator: Anna Malik-Korolenkova
Coordinator: Anastasia Solovyova In partnership with the STENOGRAFFIA Festival
Part of the Cross-Industry Conference for Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the parallel Public Awareness Programme of the Here and Now Festival 2024
Today, art is growing its presence outside cultural institutions and permeating the urban landscape. Who are the artists creating in the streets, and what is their method? How do they integrate into their environment and then succeed in reorganising it?
This discussion saw members of the art community exchange their ideas on how public art adds to the perceived value of a location while also sparking changes in a city’s cultural and architectural codes.
Speakers: Anna Klets, Yulia Safronova, Varvara Prozorova
Moderator: Anna Malik-Korolenkova
Coordinator: Anastasia Solovyova In partnership with the STENOGRAFFIA Festival
04.08
The Picnic Talks Programme at The Picnic by Afisha, Luzhniki Olympic Complex
Implementation of the following murals:
The Creator by Andrey Olenev
A Reminiscence by Evgeny "Jön" Malyshev
Untitled by Olga "INEY" Chikina
Change by Anatoly Akue
On the Other Side of the Screen by Ivan Ninety
1+1=3 by Vladislav Dakes
Kaleidoscope by Ilya Slak
The Creator by Andrey Olenev
A Reminiscence by Evgeny "Jön" Malyshev
Untitled by Olga "INEY" Chikina
Change by Anatoly Akue
On the Other Side of the Screen by Ivan Ninety
1+1=3 by Vladislav Dakes
Kaleidoscope by Ilya Slak
26.08–04.09
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of The Space Chamomile by Krasil Makar
29.08
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of Quantum Superposition by Anastasia Ryzhikova
30.08
Inner courtyard at Skoltech, Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of The Artist’s Portrait. A Model Kit by Alexander Kashin
30.08
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of A Bouquet of Wildflowers by Polina Frolova
01.09
North-east section of the area between Stratos and Amalthea Business Centers at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of The Search for an Equilibrium by Egor Plotnikov
02.09
Healing Gardens at Skolkovo Innovation Center
Installation of Alphabetians by Diana Vouba
Playground outside Mille-Feuille Residences and International Gymnasium Skolkovo at
Skolkovo Innovation Center
Skolkovo Innovation Center
03.09
Installation of A Machine in the Woods by Francisco Infante-Arana and Nonna Goryunova
Skolkovo Innovation Center, Blaise Pascal St. 2
04.10—08.10
Installation of Navigator by Anton Chumak
Central Park at Skolkovo Innovation Center
07.10
Installation of On the Same Wavelength
by Marina Zvyagintseva
by Marina Zvyagintseva
Skolkovo Innovation Center, Malevich St. 2 building 5
09.10—10.10
The Here and Now’24 Mid-Project Event
Skolkovo Innovation Center
12.10
Anna Malik-Korolenkova
Сurator
Lead Exhibition Project Curator
Yulia Vasilenko
Executive Director, Moscow International Biennial for Young Art by MMOMA
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Olga Galaktionova
Director General, ROSIZO State Museum and Exhibition Centre
Ivan Polissky
Managing Partner, Nikola Lenivets Art Park
Anna Trapkova
Director General, The Museum of Moscow Association of Museums
Sabina Chagina
Art Director and Urban + Art Curator, Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art (2021—2023)
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Dmitry Shishkin
Head of Exhibition Projects Department, Zaryadye Park, a State Autonomous Cultural Institution of the City of Moscow
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Alexander Chernov
Senior Vice President for Public, Social and Education Policy, Skolkovo Foundation
Board of Experts
Curator, researcher, and exhibition project producer in the field of contemporary art
Alexander Chernov
Senior Vice President for Public, Social and Education Policy, Skolkovo Foundation
Sabina Chagina
Art Director and Urban + Art Curator, Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art (2021–2023)
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Anna Trapkova
Director General, The Museum of Moscow Association of Museums
Ivan Polissky
Managing Partner, Nikola Lenivets Art Park
Olga Galaktionova
Director General, ROSIZO State Museum and Exhibition Centre
Yulia Vasilenko
Executive Director, Moscow International Biennial for Young Art by MMOMA
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Co-founder, Artmossphere Biennial of Street Art
Curator, researcher, and exhibition project producer in the field of contemporary art
Anna Malik-Korolenkova
Lead Exhibition Project Curator
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Board of Experts
Dmitry Shishkin
Board of Experts
Head of Exhibition Projects Department, Zaryadye Park, a State Autonomous Cultural Institution of the City of Moscow
CURATOR
Оrganizers
© Here and Now 2024
Information partners
Organizers
© Here and Now 2024
Information partners