New Testament: the Gospel according to Paris
Published 15 May, 2008, 11:40
The only bible you might associate the American socialite Paris Hilton with is the fashion bible. But that hasn’t stopped the A-list celebrity from appearing as a character from the Holy Book in a modern art exhibition in Moscow.
Until May 18, galleries from Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France and many other European countries are presenting their most interesting, expensive and coveted modern art pieces at Moscow’s Central House of Artists.
One of the biggest and most significant international art fairs Art Moscow is now in its 12th year, and there was tough competition among galleries wanting to take part.
The Board of Experts examined more than 200 applications of which only 45 were accepted.
“We want to have a prestigious, high-quality project, which can attract the world's leading galleries, so that the very best art pieces come to Russia,” says Vasily Bychkov, General Director of Art Moscow.
It might appear as shocking or just ironic, but there is something in modern art which makes people all around the globe admire it and even pay millions to own it.
“Contemporary art is able to reflect questions of life-style on the one hand, but also social and political persuasions. It is able to create the feeling of belonging to a particular and I think this what makes contemporary art so special,” says modern art expert Kathrin Becker.
New illustrations for Bible
Russian artists Dmitry Vrubel and Viktoria Timofeyeva illustrate the story of the Bible using pictures from international news agencies.
“She was greatly troubled with his words.” Paris Hilton's image combined with the s line of Gospel is part of this daring New Testament project.
The New Testament project is presented by the Russian Guelman Gallery, which prefers to work with controversial artists, such as the scandalous Blue Noses group.
Marat Guelman believes that it’s natural when the artist provokes the viewer.
“We see so many things today that it's not that easy to affect us. That's why you have to be shocking to affect people. Being scandalous is not the aim, it's just the instrument for an artist,” says Guelman .
Helsinki partner
The Forsblom Gallery from Helsinki is participating in Art Moscow Fair for the second time. It's actively engaged in Russian contemporary art. Works by the Russians Sergey Bugaev-Afrika and Irina Zatulovskaya are included in Forsblom's Classics collection, presenting potentially great artists of the future.
“They are sort of becoming classics in ten years, definitely they are. We try to show things in that moment when they are not that expensive. It's easy to take Jeff Koons or Damien Hirst, because they cost a fortune today, but it's better to take them ten years earlier,” says Kaj Forsblom.
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