GEORGY OSTRETSOV

Britain and Russia have a symbiotic art relationship that stretches back centuries. Catherine the Great, one of history's greatest art collectors, caused splutters of outrage in England in 1779 when she snapped up a rare collection of old masters from Houghton Hall in Norfolk, home of Britain's first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole.

Today, it's oil-gorged oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich who are buoying up the ailing international art market with purchases at auction in London, New York and Paris. The anglophile owner of Chelsea football club set records last year when he acquired Francis Bacon's Triptych for £53 million and a work by Lucian Freud for £20m.

It's not all east buys west either: a new generation of provocative Russian artists, such as Gosha Ostretsov and Pavel Pepperstein, has piqued the interest of British collectors with shows in London.

In the Russian capital the post-Soviet art scene is developing into a major international force. Three huge and vibrant new exhibition spaces have opened in Moscow in the last two years, one of them masterminded by Abramovich's socialite girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova. Edgy, arty hangouts are popping up too.




GEORGY OSTRETSOV
Born in Moscow, 1967
Lives and works in Moscow
Education
1984
Graduated from the Theatre Art School at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow
Solo Exhibitions
2009
The Adventures of Robbing Good, Paradise Row Gallery, London
The Abyss, Volta Art Fair, New York City
2007
Under Repair, Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
2005
Lawlessness, Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow
Eat the Halfwi t: Wall Mural in the Tretyakov Gallery at Krymsky Val, Modern Trends
Department, Hall of Actual Art
2004
War, Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow
2003
The Ceremony of Granting the New Government’s Order “Silver Badge of Honour” to the Best
People of the Russia Federation, S. Art Gallery, Moscow
2002
Vandals and Generals of the New Government, Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow
2001
Contemporary Ar t in a Traditional Museum, festival organised by the Ford Foundation Antarctic
Eden, Arctic and Antarctic Museum, St. Petersburg
2000
New Government, Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow
Visitor, Marble Palace, the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Group Exhibitions
2009
Play, Paradise Row + Prakke Contemporary, London
Russian Pavillion, 53rd Venice Biennale
Paradise Row Gallery @ Art Rotterdam, Netherlands
2008-2009
Invasion: Evasion – An Exhibition of Young Russian Ar tis t s, Baibakov Art Projects, Moscow
2008
The Was te Land, Paradise Row Gallery @ Zoo Art Fair, the Royal Academy, London
Domes tic Appliance, Flowers East Gallery, London
Laughter Life, Paradise Row Gallery, London
Moscow Photo Biennial, Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
2007
Aust rian Story, with G.Litichevskij, Resanita Center of Contemporary Art, Graz, Austria
Salon Beaute, Rabouan-Moussion Gallery, Paris, France
Under Repair, Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow 2nd Moscow Biennial
Exhibition of Modern Art, “Sots-Ar t”, Tretyakov Gallery,Moscow
2nd Moscow Biennial Exhibition of Modern Art, “Ar tis t ’s Diary”, Central House of
Artists, Moscow
2006
Cinemarathon, Curator Project, Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow
Amateurs, Marres Art-Center, Maastricht, Netherlands
Spear-Hand, group show with Benjamin Barthel and Julie Sainton (Paris), National Center of
Photography of Russian Federation, St. Petersburg
2005
Russia-2, Central House of Artists, Moscow
1st Moscow Biennial Exhibition of Modern Art, Gender Passions, Museum of Modern Art,
Moscow
Front: Wechsel, Group Project, Stift Vorau, Austria
Soobshchniki (Par tners),1st Moscow Biennial Exhibition of Modern Art, Tretyakov Gallery,
Moscow
George&George & In Process, State Center of Modern Art, Moscow
8th Biennale of Graphics of the Baltic Count ries, Koenigsberg
2004
Cont rolled Democracy, White Space Gallery, London
Moscow-Warsaw, Modern Art Center, Ujazd Castle, Warsaw
2003
New Countdown: Digital Russia with Sony, & The New Government Against Global Net, The
Central House of Artists at Krymsky Val, Moscow
2002
Bulimia, Moscow Photo Biennial, Photo Centre, Gogolevsky Boulevard, Moscow
Reconst ruction, Rubber Tower, Las tomer (Pinniped), Cetinje Biennial, Shooting Gallery, Cetinje,
Montenegro
1993
Contemporary Ar t Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey
Collections, public and private
The State Tretyakov Gallery, novel trends department led by A. Yerofeyev, Moscow
The State Russian Museum, novel trends department led by A. Borovsky, St.Petersburg
The Moscow Contemporary Art Museum, Moscow
The Arctic and Antarctic Museum, St. Petersburg
The Freud Museum of Dreams, St. Petersburg
The Saatchi Gallery, London