Photo A. Kupstov

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Sergey Popov is neat, studious and thoughtful. “Therereally is an art business in Russia now.” He speaks withsome authority. The owner of Pop/Off/Art has beeninvolved with Russian collections, museums and gal-leries for long enough to know. “Not too long ago,there were fewer professionals involved – morelawyers, insurance agents, logistics managers. Therewere not even well-established framing shops andsuppliers of materials like fixatives, but we all workedtogether to overcome these difficulties.”

Popov curated the exhibition “Always a Different Art”for the Russian Academy of Arts, and timed it tocoincide with the international conference on con-temporary Russian art. The works for the exhibitionwere chosen from one of the most comprehensivecollections of contemporary art in Russia, theconsiderable collection of Victor Bondarenko. As acompanion to the exhibition, Sergey wrote a book, alsoentitled Always a Different Art, which explored thecomplete history and development of modern art, fromthe middle of the last century up to the present day.

Popov has also been appointed as curator of the NewMuseum (Novy Musei) in St Petersburg, which was de-scribed in the New York Times as “Nouveau Hip”. “TheNovy Musei is absolutely necessary to reactivate thecultural life of St Petersburg,” he says. “It will stimulatethe art business to a new level.” The collection is drawnfrom that of the museum’s owner, Aslan Chekhoyev,and it showcases works by artists from the second halfof the 20th century who had largely been ignored bythe state museums until recently. Although an interna-tional market has begun to flourish in Moscow, there is

SERGEY POPOV

plenty of scope in the rest of the country to develop,particularly in St Petersburg, the home of theHermitage. “The art business in Russia is relativelyyoung and is still in the process of formation, so it hasnot really suffered in the economic crisis.”

Among the exhibits Popov has chosen to display inthe New Museum are works by Russian mastersof informal art, such as Oscar Rabin, LeoKropivnitsky, Lidiya Masterkova, Vladimir Nemukhin,Mikhail Shvartsman, Dmitrii Krasnopevtsev, VladimirWeisberg, and Viktor Pivovarov, as well as membersof the Gazonevsky movement, the New Artists artgroup and Boris Turetsky’s The Three Mannequins,a painting which was discovered having beenabandoned in a rundown Moscow apartment. Themuseum’s Sots-Art department is particularly proudof the three-metre-wide allegorical painting YaltaConference: the Judgment of Paris by Vitaly Komarand Alexander Melamid, which depicts majorfigures of the 20th century in a setting of Greekmythology.

While there has been a good deal of trade in themore established and better known Russian artists,Sergey sees the need for new, young talent. “Untilnow, I haven’t found young, emerging artists withwhom I am confident to work. I need to be sure thatan artist will stick at it, that they aren’t going to giveup, because art is a tough profession. It takes hardwork, and it’s a difficult way of life.” He does seepotential for that growth, though, and believes thathe has spotted some of its future stars. “A new gen-eration of really talented artists has begun to emerge

GALLERY OWNER AND CURATOR SERGEY POPOV SHOWSBOND MAGAZINE SOME OF THE SECRETS OF THE RUSSIANCONTEMPORARY ART TRADE

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over the last two or three years. At the 2010 MoscowBiennale I saw some young artists who I think I couldbelieve in, with whom I’d like to work.”

Popov’s mode of working with the artists he repre-sents is very close, and very involved. “I’m on goodpersonal terms with all of the artists who arerepresented at ‘pop/off/art’. In Russia, it is hard to bein business any other way. Artists prefer to makea deal on the word of someone they trust, rather thanwith a contract. They distrust signing papers that mayturn to bite them later, and sometimes they even loseout this way.” This distinctly Russian style suits Sergey,and it suits his artists. “This is how it has been for manyyears, and I have long relationships with most ofthese artists, from before I opened the gallery. Maybethis is not the way it’s done in other parts of the world,and perhaps I could have been more distant, lesspersonally involved and stuck to contracts only, butthat isn’t how it works here.”

Timing is exceptionally good for thiskind of investment

It is a style of business that, Sergey believes, helps keepeverybody concentrated on the art, rather than beingfixated on the bottom line. “My job is to sell a paintingwithout infringing on the rights of the artist, and thatmay seem too personal. On the other hand, if therelationship is too businesslike, it can focus too muchon costs and profit.”

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His own focus on the business is clear enough, though.Sergey is developing the market as it is, and at thesame time looking ahead. “Although investors are stillquite conservative, and don’t always see the potentialliquidity, there are very good prospects now. Incomeis very high. The top prices for works of art have risentenfold over the last five years. Prices haven’t fallen inthe current crisis, and the value in some areas hasgone on increasing.” Most of the contemporary artthat is selling now is being bought by Russians. Interestfrom abroad and on the international scene is risingas Russian artists become better known in the West,but international buyers have not quite caught up withthe value of Russian contemporary works. They stillexpect prices to be lower than they are for artists fromcountries with a more established reputation.

A market in that position of growth offers a good dealof opportunity to collectors and investors alike, Sergeybelieves. “Timing is exceptionally good for this kind ofinvestment. The art is on its way up and, as the marketis being slow to catch up because of the ecomic crisis,returns can be considerable over a very short term.I would even say that investors who don’t commit toart now stand to lose. Those who understand it will getall the cream.”

Russians have begun to appreciate the value of thecontemporary art of their mother country. Theappetite is growing, as an expanding class of wealthyRussians see past the traditional, classical andSoviet Realist periods, and into the contemporaryart world with works that may better representthe new Russia.

“Russian collectors now are mostly investing in Russianart, but that is the same all over the world – Italiansinvest in Italian art. In some countries, people onlyconsider their own national artists.” But internationalbuyers are beginning to awaken to Russian contem-porary art and its possibilities. London auctioneersMacDougall's specialize in Russian art, and over thelast few years have made Russian art sales to rivalSotheby’s and Christie’s. World-class galleries includingRuArts, Stella Art and Marina Gisich have beencongregating in Moscow and St Petersburg.

A cultural dialogue is certainly beginning. In 2008world-renowned gallery owner Larry Gagosianmounted a gigantic show in the former Red Octoberchocolate factory (site of some of the events in the2007 Russian Biennale). Western and internationalartists were featured, but the show marked a signifi-cant entry into the Russian art market by this colossusof the modern art world from New York.

“International collectors have begun to appear inRussia and although they do invest in foreign art,their collections acquire a Russian ‘shade’. Worksfrom the Socialist Realist period are still valued andsought after among international collectors. Theirposition changed in the last 20 years, but they stillremain valuable.” Naturally, the internet has helpedto make communication easier and faster, andRussian galleries, just like their Western counterparts,are taking positions on the web. Popov sees this asa mixed blessing. “The internet is still developing inthe art market. A gallery on the internet misses thespace, the interaction with the actual works, and

the relationship that the client and dealer can buildin person. Gallery websites are now beginning tohave some of the features of a real gallery, and it isa very fast way to communicate and spread infor-mation.” The reduced connection between thecollector, the agent and the artist may have aneffect on the landscape of the art market, and per-haps even on the kinds of art that are collected.“There are more and more clients looking only forfashionable art. There’s no need for that kind ofbuyer to come to the real gallery, because they’reonly buying a brand and have no appreciation forthe aesthetics of the work.”

For the present, though, Sergey sees a healthy trendin the contemporary art business. “At the moment theart market here in Russia is led by the quality of theart, and not by the demands of the buyers,” and hehas a good deal of development in his expert sights.“Some of the artists I work with are not fully appreci-ated in the market, because the collectors haven’tquite caught up with them. They aren’t understoodyet, but I know their value for the future. I am one hun-dred percent certain of the quality of their work.”

Perhaps Popov offers some clues to the emergingtrends in Russian contemporary art. “Some youngRussian artists under 30 who I would be watchingout for are Irina Drozd, Ilya Gaponov, Kirill Koteshovand Andrei Gorbunov from St Petersburg,and in Moscow Dmitry Gutov, Haim Sokol, JannaKadyrova and the group ‘Recycle’.” These may bethe young Russian artists to take the “Nouveau Hip”to the next level.

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Olga Tatarinstev, Segments 2008 Erik Bulatov, Black Night, White Snow 2002

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Oleg and Olga Tatarinstev, Stairs 2008

Dmitry Kawarga, Wood, The project Uroboros

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