1975 — 2022

Valentin Korzhov is an artist focused on the idea of space. His imagination was captured by Heidegger's idea of emptiness.

Member of the Moscow Union of Artists, sculpture department.

1998 — Graduated from Moscow State University, Faculty of Art and Graphic Arts
1996-2002 — Worked in the creative workshop of sculpture V.V. Sidorenko
2011 — Member of the sculpture section of the Moscow Union of Artists and the Association of Moscow Sculptors
2018 — Included in the top 100 Russian artists, according to “InArt”
2020 — Finalist of the XIV International Award “Arte Laguna”

Valentin Korzhov places his sculptures on a neutral natural background to observe their materiality surrounded by complete emptiness, the so-called nothingness. According to the German philosopher's ideas, this is the only condition under which true form can manifest itself. Bizarre objects that defy description, motionless against the background of endless snow fields, look strange and alien, and give rise to another, very literal connotation - Space. Valentine draws ideas for his sculptural forms from the geometry of large cosmic objects from the Hubble telescope's galactic images, drawing lines between different star clusters. A follower of Henry Moore and Francis Infante, Valentine strives for purity of form - his casts are tinted by chemical reaction with no man-made involvement or simply left white.

In Valentin's repertoire it is now difficult to single out one direction - each of his works is a combination of sculpture and artistic composition, arranged with theatrical precision and captured with a photographic lens. Valentin turns each of his projects into a large-scale collaboration with recognized international photographers, filmmakers, actors and professional technicians. The end result for the viewer is a multidimensional installation with a deep immersion effect, combining sculpture, video and photography.

Valentin is the only artist in Russia who works at the intersection of all major art media, philosophy and science. Valentin is a member of the Moscow Union of Artists, Sculpture Department. His solo exhibitions have been held at various venues, including the Ekaterina Foundation for Culture, the State Museum named after Darwin, the Center for Contemporary Art. Darwin, the Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, the Voronezh Academy of Arts and many others. His exhibition “Archaeology of Memory” was shown as a parallel program during the V International Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. In 2018, the project “BEING & TIME” was included in the main projects of the VIII Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art, and in 2020 Valentin became a finalist of the XIV International Arte Laguna Prize and in March presents his installation “THE BRAIN THAT PASSED AWAY” in Venice.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS:

• 2020 — ROUND AROUND In collaboration with Oleg Khvostov, Gridchinhall Moscow, Cube Art Center, Moscow
• 2019 — Being and Time. Asia Contemporary Art Show, Gallery Bruno Massa. Seoul, Korea
• 2019 — Being and Time. Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Center. Manama, Bahrain
• 2019 — Across Borders, Bahrain
• 2019 — Being and Time, Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, Moscow
• 2018 — International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Tashkent
• 2018 — The Last Job, Mikhail Shemyakin Foundation, St. Petersburg
• 2018 — Flesh And Sky, Gallery 11.12, curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, Winzavod, Moscow
• 2017 — Lessons of Natural History, Darwin State Museum, Moscow. Darwin Museum, Moscow
• 2017 — “Actual Russia: Playing the Classics”, in collaboration with the State Center for Contemporary Art. Saratov State Art Museum named after A.N. Radishchev
• 2016 — “Actual Russia: habitat”, State Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, Moscow
• 2014 — White Kurgan, Academy of Arts, Voronezh 
• 2013 — “Archaeology of Memory”, Parallel Program of the V Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, curated by Vladimir Potapov. “Gogol Center”, Moscow.
• 2013 — Project of the V Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow
• 2012 — Zeta-Flood, Gogol Center, Moscow
• 2009 — Gray Screens, Central House of Artists, Moscow

Born in 1997 in St. Petersburg, where he currently lives and works.
Graduated from St. Petersburg Repin Academy of Arts, Faculty of Theory and History of Art (2022).

The author interacts with the artistic heritage of the past, occasionally borrowing some artistic techniques, and then transforming them into something closer to him. Egor is often inspired by the thinking of neural networks, sometimes completely unpredictable. Each work of the artist is multi-layered. It begins with a tonal substrate created using various pigments, solvents and inks, after which traditional materials such as watercolor, pastels and others are added.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

• 2019 — (Non)Perfect Forms, FossArt Gallery, St. Petersburg
• 2019 — Reflections on Form, GB Gallery, St. Petersburg

GROUP PROJECTS:

• 2024 — blazar, , a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow
• 2024 — St. Petersburg Art Fair “1703”,, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Manezh, St. Petersburg
• 2024 — KONTUR Graphics Fair, , a—s—t—r—a gallery, Nizhny Novgorod
• 2024 — a—s—t—r—a open.vol. 4, , a—s—t—r—a  gallery, Winzavod, Moscow

“I call my work interdisciplinary research. Being both an artist and an art historian, I play several roles at once. This allows me to occupy a kind of middle ground between a philosopher and a creator of the material. Since childhood I have been attracted and mesmerized by the art of the past, including Christian art. It is in biblical motifs that I have always felt some special aesthetics, energy that is very close to me. 
I have always been drawn to research. And my own art for me is always research, discovery, it is always global reflections on culture, philosophy, life as such. 
Inspired by the art of the past, I have created a special visual language. It is multifaceted, it is unique. There are many rules within it, there are certain constructions, schemes. However, I am the only one who knows about their existence. The viewer, perceiving, “listening” to my language, always finds his own meanings, translations, “transcriptions”.
Creating a full-fledged universe within my own work has always been and remains a very special task for me. The most important goal for me is to mystify and mythologize the content of my pictorial universe. 
For me, every work, every graphic sheet is always a portal to another world, it is always a genuine artifact. If a work can be perceived as an artifact, then it is a good work. And I strive for my work to be good.”

Egor Voskresensky

St. Petersburg Art Fair “1703”, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Manezh, St. Petersburg

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

•  Artguide - Year three: the results of the art fair 1703
•  Forbes - Results of St. Petersburg Art Fair “1703”
•  BURO - Social Art, Dreams and Mountains: Where to Go and What to See in Museums in February
•  Art Flash - Group project a-s-t-r-a OPEN vol.4. A Fresh Look at Contemporary Art
•  INTERIOR+DESIGN - New names in the fourth edition of the Open project at a-s-t-r-a gallery.
•  NOW - What to do this weekend: January 27-28
• MOSCOW24 - Project a-s-t-r-a OPEN vol.4 started at Winzavod
• BURO - A-s-t-r-a OPEN vol.4 group project opened at Winzavod
• Playbill - a-s-t-r-a open vol.4

Oleg Dou is the pseudonym of artist Oleg Douryagin.

Born in 1983 in Moscow. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, specializing in economic programming. Since childhood he was interested in art, became interested in creating computer graphics. In 2005 he took up photography and began to combine it with post-processing. He works in various media from digital images and video to sculptures.
Winner of International Photography Awards (2007), International Color Awards (2008) and Arte Laguna Art Prize (Italy, 2009). Nominee of the Kandinsky Prize in 2007 and 2008.
Oleg created a Photoshop cover commissioned by Adobe, participated in the “Leaders of Public Opinion” program, creating works at the invitation of the Culture Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has collaborated with brands such as Givenchy, Juun J, David Koma. 
His works are in museum collections of Luxemburg Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg; Ekaterina Foundation, Russia; Jan des bouvrie, Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, France; Samawi Collection, Dubai; Jeju museum of art, Korea; 21 cMuseum, USA; Moscow Multimedia Art Museum, Russia; FRAC Reunion, France; Sollo Collection, Spain and others. As well as in private collections in Russia, America and Switzerland. 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS:

• 2024 — Fair |catalog| December, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow, Russia
• 2024 — Cosmoscow, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow, Russia
• 2024 — St. Petersburg Art Fair “1703”, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Manezh, St. Petersburg, Russia.
• 2024 — Fair |catalog| April, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow, Russia
• 2019 — “Mutant”, solo exhibition , Osnova Gallery, Moscow, Russia 
• 2018 — “Looking Back and Beyond”, group exhibition, Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, USA 
• 2018 — “Elèctric i llunyà”, group exhibition, Tecla Sala Cultural Center, Barcelona, Spain
• 2017 — “Elegance”, group exhibition, RTR Gallery, Paris, France 
• 2016 — “On behalf of baboushka”, group exhibition, RTR Gallery, Paris, France 
• 2016 — “All eyes on me”, group exhibition, Pechersky Gallery, Moscow, Russia 
• 2016 — “Lonely Narcissus”, solo exhibition, Osnova Gallery, Moscow, Russia
• 2014 — “Faces”, solo exhibition, Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2014 — “8 years. Retrospective”, solo exhibition, RTR Gallery, Paris, France
• 2012 — “Another Face”, solo exhibition, Museum of Multimedia Arts, Moscow, Russia
• 2012 — “Tears and Toy Story”, solo exhibition, Museum of Regional Arts of Krasnodar, Russia
• 2012 — “Another Face”, solo exhibition, RTR Gallery, Paris, France
• 2012 — “Reboot”, group exhibition, Red October Gallery, Moscow, Russia
• 2012 — “I am who I am”, group exhibition, KIT Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf, Germany
• 2012 — International Photography Festival, Republic of Korea
• 2012 — “Perestroika”, solo exhibition, Fotofest 2012 Biennial of Photography, Houston, USA
• 2012 — “Photography: Russia, China, Czech and Slovak Republic” group exhibition, Allen Center, Houston, USA
• 2011 — “Cubs”, solo exhibition, Espace Art 22 gallery, Brussels
• 2011 — “Cubs”, solo exhibition, Senda Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
• 2011 — FotoArtFestival, BWA, Bielsko, Twarze, Poland
• 2011 — “Cubs”, solo exhibition, RTR Gallery, Paris, France
• 2011 — “Gevaarlijk Jong”, group exhibition, Dr. Ghislain Museum, Ghent, Belgium
• 2011 — “F for Fake”, group exhibition, Belvedere Palace, San Leucio “Smell, Colour, Chemestry, Art and Education”, Santa Monica Museum, Barcelona, Spain
• 2010 — “Toystory”, solo exhibition, Flatland Gallery, Utrecht, Netherlands
• 2010 — “Toystory”, solo exhibition, Senda Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
• 2010 — “Russian Tales”, group exhibition, EXPRMNTL gallery, Toulouse, France
• 2010 — “Russains! Photographic portrait 1970-2010”, group exhibition, OREL ART gallery, Paris, France
• 2010 — “Atopia”, group exhibition, Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
• 2010 — “inSPIRACJE”, festival, Poland
• 2010 — “L'exquis et l'obscur”, Galerie D.X, Bordeaux, France
• 2009 — “Tears”, solo exhibition, Art Espace 22, Brussels, Belgium
• 2009 — “Les Visages”, group exhibition, Interalia, Seoul
• 2009 — “Look me in the Eyes”, group exhibition, RTR Gallery, Paris
• 2009 — Pingyao International Photography Festival 2009, China
• 2009 — “Visage. Image. Timps”, group exhibition, Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow

Fair |catalog| April 2023, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow, Russia

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• Artguide - Year Three: the results of art fair 1703
  
• Photoplay - Talks. Oleg Dou
  
• Moskvich Mag - This is my city: artist Oleg Dou
  
• ArtInvestment - Artist of the Week: Oleg Dou
• U magazine - Artist Oleg Dou - about fashion, design and art collaborations
  
• BURO. - The Carol Christian Poell store will host an exhibition of artist Oleg Dou
• Next Level - Oleg Dou. Sketches

Sergey Sonin

Born in Smolensk in 1968. Artist, director, screenwriter, producer. Studied at Semyon Aranovich's workshop for film directing at St. Petersburg State University of Cinema and Television 

Elena Samorodova

Born in Moscow in 1973. Architect, production designer and photographer. Studied at Moscow Art School №1. Graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute, Experimental Design Group in 1998.

Sergey Sonin and Elena Samorodova (Partnership "Lead and Cobalt") are multimedia artists, working in two capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg, founders of several art associations. Their works are in the collection of the Museum of Moscow, Krasnoyarsk Museum Center "Peace Square", Multimedia Art Museum and in private collections.

For the last decade and a half, the artists have been continuously experimenting, playing with imaginary reconstructions of the world's cultural and historical present, past and future in their works, filling them with new content. In their mystifications they also refer to time, shortening or prolonging its course, establishing “their” author's perceptions and frameworks.

SELECTED PROJECTS:

• 2024 — “Utopia and Uchronia”, personal project, MMOMA Museum, Gogolevsky b-р. 10/2 , Moscow, Russia
• 2024 — Fair |catalog| December, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow, Russia
• 2024 — St. Petersburg Art Fair “1703”, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Manezh, St. Petersburg, Russia
• 2024 — KONTUR Graphics Fair, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
• 2024 — 1st GRAUND Biennale “Textile in Contemporary Art”, a—s—t—r—a gallery, GRAUND Solyanka, Moscow
• 2023 — St. Petersburg Art Fair “1703”, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Manezh, St. Petersburg
• 2023 — “Utopia and Uchronia. The Dream of a Landowner of the Middle Strip”, a—s—t—r—a gallery, Moscow
• 2022 — "Northern Arcadia", solo exhibition, City Sculpture Museum, St. Petersburg.
• 2022 — "Utopia and Uchronia", solo exhibition, Navicula Artis Gallery, St. Petersburg.
• 2019 — "Procession" video premiere, Karo-art, Oktyabr cinema, Moscow
• 2018 — "Razvilka. Personal exhibition, Krokin Gallery, Moscow
• 2016 — "Trapper's Fragment. Russian Stereo". Solo exhibition, Krokin Gallery, Moscow
• 2015 — "Russian Realism XXI century", Museum of Modern History of Russia, Moscow.
• 2015 — "Now&After" video festival.  Film "Egyptian flock".
• 2015 — "Kvadratura", - "Strategic Heritage", Tenishev ECC, Smolensk
• 2015 — auction PIASA. Russian & soviet photographs. "Gogol. Rome. From the Third to the First", Paris
• 2015 — "Enrichment of Reality", - "Strategic Heritage", A3 Gallery, Moscow
• 2015 — "Victory as a new epic", - "Strategic Heritage", Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery, Moscow
• 2014 — "Gogol. Rome. From the Third to the First", Museum of Moscow. Personal exhibition
• 2013 — "Egyptian flock", Krasnoyarsk Museum Center, personal exhibition, Krasnoyarsk
• 2013 — "Shelter for Sniper", Transatlantic Gallery, Moscow, Parallel program of the 5th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. Solo exhibition
• 2013 — "Strategic Heritage", Polytechnic Museum, Moscow. Solo exhibition
• 2012 — "Hot Cold. Loft Floors, St. Petersburg
• 2012 — "Egyptian Pack. Part 1", gallery POBEDA, Moscow. Solo exhibition
• 2010 — "Divine Wind", Marble Palace, St. Petersburg
• 2009 — Exhibition "Divine Wind", Museum of Modern Art, Moscow
• 2007 — "Generals of the 70s", Yakut Gallery, Moscow
• 2005 — "Generals of the 70s", Festival "Fashion and Style in Photography", Moscow

“The universe of Elena Samorodova and Sergey Sonin is a “Russian invisible Empire”, either a post-apocalyptic world or a parallel reality, fixed in aesthetically perfect video frescoes and artifacts, such as, for example, stove tiles, which make us believe that all this happened in reality. The ordinary viewer risks getting lost in these quantum movements and, waving his hand, giving himself over to emotional and aesthetic experiences, but now we have the opportunity to talk to the authors and untangle this tangle of meanings.”

Quoted from the article “Elena Samorodova, Sergey Sonin: Over the Russian Void, through Russian Zen”

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• Artguide - Year Three: the results of the 1703 art fair
• Forbes - Results of St. Petersburg art fair “1703”
• Snob - “Art owes no one anything”. A conversation between gallery owner Alina Kryukova and art historian Ivan Chechot
• BURO - New exhibitions in “HES-2”, MMOMA, “Zotov”: where to go and what to see in museums in May
• ART Knot - “I want to escape from the leveling and simplified monotony of the modern world's offerings”