Kristina Krasnyanskaya: “There are five basic principles of collecting. Returning to the past... You have an education in economics and art history. You deliberately went to study to become an art historian so that you could later open a gallery.

Collecting works of art is an elite hobby that requires not only a serious education in the field of art history, but also impeccable taste.
Art critic, corresponding member of the International Academy of Culture and Art, owner of the Moscow Heritage Gallery, Kristina Krasnyanskaya told us about whether it is possible to cultivate good taste on your own and how to learn how to create art collections.

• Christina, what is “good taste” for you?
• Good taste is the art of being in harmony with the world around you. Guided by taste, we can choose what will become a part of our life and what will not. It's like creating a good collection. The ability to choose and find matches determines the formation of our personal life context. A person with good taste always exists and feels in place and in time, since he strives for harmony between the external and internal world.
• In your opinion, can good taste be cultivated?
• Of course, good taste is a trait that is instilled in childhood. If a person becomes acquainted with beauty and the eternal canons of beauty from a very early age, it is much easier for him to develop good taste. Good taste is not an innate quality; rather, it is the result of working on oneself. Constantly expanding your horizons and discovering new things, we are improving
• your taste. Good taste is often associated with a sense of style, although these are two completely different concepts, like fashion and art.
• What is more important when creating private collections - taste or fashion?
• The tastes of a professional and a novice collector very often do not coincide. How do you behave in such situations - do you instill taste in clients or try to comply
• their aspirations? I always try to listen to the wishes and vision of my clients, without, however, hiding my opinion from them. As a rule, everyone starts collecting with the classics, guided by ideas received in anthologies and museum catalogs. But conservatism in collecting -
• not always a sign of good taste. Abstract art is an evolution that first the artist goes through, and then the viewer.
• This art requires special training, experience and education. You need to come to it, gradually expanding your vision, or you may never come. How does contemporary art influence public taste?
• At all times, fine art has shaped both the canons of beauty and fashionable types. Contemporary art does this in a more intense and eclectic way, talking about so many things at the same time. Today there is a tendency towards a synthesis of arts, when theater is combined with music, painting with design, video installations
• and cinema.
• Art shows us its attitude to the processes taking place in society and helps us determine our own attitude to this.
• This is a very comprehensive question. Artists such as Van Gogh, Marc Chagall, and Konstantin Korovin had an incredibly strong sense of style. For me personally, an endless source of admiration is the work of the count of the Russian avant-garde, Andrei Lansky, a Russian artist who left his homeland during the October Revolution and achieved wide recognition in the West.
  His lyrical abstractions are refined intellectual painting, full of the energy of “color-light.”
  Today, Lansky’s work is finally gaining well-deserved recognition in his homeland, which also testifies to the evolution of public taste in Russia...
  (From the gallery website): The main activities of the international art gallery "Heritage" are the art of Russian emigration of the first half of the 20th century and contemporary Russian art. Conscious of the responsibility that the work imposes on the gallery
  with works
  art of such a level as “Russian Abroad”, we strive to be as demanding as possible when working with contemporary art. Contemporary Russian and Western art is presented in the Heritage gallery by artists whose works are in the collections of a number of museums around the world. Many participants in our exhibition projects are members of the Union of Artists of the USSR and Russia, students of such colossuses of modern painting as Varvara Bubnova (member of the “Youth Union”, “Jack of Diamonds”, “Donkey’s Tail”, exhibited together with Malevich, Tatlin and Rodchenko), Vasily Sitnikov (representative of “unofficial art, founder of his own school”), Heinrich Ludwig (representative of the avant-garde of Soviet architecture of the 20s). Each of the presented in our gallery of works has undeniable artistic value, making contemporary art worthy of elite collecting and invariably giving us joy
  ------------------
  from contact
  with the beautiful.

Kristina Krasnyanskaya (38 years old): daughter of co-owner of Eurocement Group Georgy Krasnyansky (net worth 1.5 billion dollars). Heritage Gallery Heritage Gallery celebrates its 7th anniversary in February with the exhibition “Soviet Design. From Constructivism to Modernism" at the Museum of Architecture: Design Furniture Nikolai Lansere, Boris Iofan, Karo Alabyan— now a new profile of the gallery, which previously specialized in artists from Russia abroad and their exhibitions, including museum ones, —

Andre Lansky, Boris Grigoriev

For two reasons. Firstly, this is a very labor-intensive and costly task. Secondly, we don’t yet have the culture of buying at auctions. My colleagues and I are trying to instill something like this, but it’s going hard. It's mostly dealers who go to auctions—and auction houses are aimed at dealers. But among the general public, not collectors, but simply buyers, those who buy from time to time, this has not yet become a habit - visiting auctions, flea markets, experiments in the organic combination of old and new... Everyone is very dependent on their designer. And designers have their own preferences and principles. As a result, everything results in far-fetched “turnkey” interiors, which soon become morally obsolete. A few years - and a person understands that he can no longer live in this. I’m now making my own apartment, where there’s a mixture of everything. Eclecticism as a principle - we tried to explain this to clients starting from the first exhibition of collectible furniture here in Moscow (an exhibition with the participation of famous Parisian galleries Didier Aaron And Yves Gastou spanned the 18th - 20th centuries, from Jean-Francois Ebena before Ettore Sottsassa. — TANR). So I will have Scandinavian furniture from the 1960s, and Soviet, and Russian art, and modern, and not so modern.

But contemporary art is a new area of ​​activity for you.

This is a separate project where I act more like an art manager. There are several Russian artists whom I, so to speak, want to integrate into the international context - for me this is an interesting task, a reason to use already tested, well-known technologies. We'll see what comes of this. So far I have two wards. Alexey Morozov I like the fact that he has a school, but with the academic uniform there is also contemporary touch: despite his academicism, his art does not seem salon-like. I really like Morozov and am ready to supervise him Alessandro Romanini, who has done more than one exhibition Botero, including the recent anniversary one. A tour is being prepared: first, an exhibition of Morozov at the Naples National Archaeological Museum, in December 2015, then, in March 2016, in Moscow, in MMOMA on Gogolevsky. We are negotiating with Venice - we want to present a marble sculpture of Morozov in one of the city squares during the Biennale.

Another artist - Oksana Mas. Oksana is a creative person. She came to me when she realized that the implementation of her projects required the work of a whole team. One of hers Altar what is it worth (we will show it in Gorky Park in March)! The curator and art critic became interested in her Janet Zwingenberger, who saw her work several years ago, has been watching her since then and is now going to write a monograph about Oksana. Oksana is also on tour: exhibition Feeling of Light will be held in Baku from July 5 to September 5, after that - Astana, Berlin, and now we are negotiating about Istanbul.

But this is not a gallery, this is me; The gallery is still some limitation of the format. The gallery deals with artists from Russia abroad plus collectible design. And I, like any person, want to develop. To do this, I need some perspectives where I will no longer perform as a gallery, but as Christina.

And if you choose one thing, what would you choose?

On design, of course. But why? I decided that I could afford several unrelated projects. In the West we are known as a gallery that deals with design; collection design - in Russia this is the niche where we became pioneers; The gallery has formed a significant collection, which includes unique items, from constructivism to modernism - in a few years this collection may well become a museum. In Moscow and in Russia, we are still known mainly due to the fact that we are involved in Russian diaspora: we have done many worthy museum-level projects, we cooperate with museums, we are part of the society of friends of the Russian Museum, we have our collectors, whose collections we maintain and replenish new works, we advise... But for the 7th anniversary of the gallery, I want to make an exhibition at the Museum of Architecture, dedicated specifically to design - a retrospective of Soviet design, covering almost all directions in this area, a historical excursion starting with furniture Boris Iofan for Government House and ending in the 1960s. While working on catalogs, especially for international fairs, I realized that, in addition to purely technical and accompanying information, everyone is always interested in general information. I thought that an educational program was needed. The idea came up to make a documentary where you can present the era precisely through things - through spectacular things, pompous things, tragically dying and forgotten things... I want to make a film so serious that you can take part in a documentary film festival with it, for example. I plan to present the film in Basel in the summer - we don’t have time for February.

You didn’t go to Basel last summer...

...But next year we are going. If the political situation allows. We have a specific material - Soviet design. And going to Europe with Soviet propaganda furniture, you see, now would be ridiculous. So we refused. The organizers were upset. They said that a circle of those who are interested in us has already formed, and for the organizers such a situation, when a gallery participates for three years, then suddenly does not participate, is not very clear, art should be outside of politics and beyond borders. Of course - but what about art that is political in content? Then, the Basel fair receives wide media coverage. Who hasn't written about us: Wallpaper, Guardian, Daily Telegraph! Now, the question arises, why do all this and take it to Basel, knowing in advance that you risk running into a programmed negative reaction to everything Russian? Before that I had an excellent reputation - I didn’t want to spoil it.

But are you going to continue to promote Soviet design at Design Miami?

Recently, over dinner in Italy, my collectors told me that the 1950s and 1960s were so cool that I would never give up this topic. Rem Koolhaas contacted us when we were in Basel, because he was just working on one of the future Garage premises, created at the appropriate time. But we are not limited only to this period. It's just that things from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s are rarer and more collectible, let's put it that way; although there is little left of the 1960s either. But these things are more in demand than ever, and indeed that era seems to be becoming relevant again. Our material attracts museums. I became friends with the Museum of Decorative Arts in New York, which recently became a division of the Smithsonian Institution; they showed interest in joint exhibitions: their head of the exhibition department, deputy director, is engaged in propaganda textiles. Thank you Craig Robins, founder and co-owner Design Miami, which provided the Russian gallery with the opportunity to show Soviet design at such a fair - and properly declare itself.

Where did the idea to work on Soviet furniture come from?

The idea came the moment I noticed, diligently attending Design Miami from year to year, that the share of the most fashionable, most expensive, most sought-after Art Deco style began to decline, gradually giving way to furniture of the 1950s-1960s. Plus somewhere memories of Soviet childhood played. Craig Robins once took me to the stand of a gallery that deals with Scandinavian design, and seeing this minimalist, ascetic furniture, I was surprised to learn from the gallery owner that I had just bought the entire stand from him Roman Abramovich. Yes, there are few collectors, but they exist. It’s just that few people know that Abramovich has a house, furnished with historical items in the style of the 1930s. What did Abramovich buy? Bacon- they know this.

You were going to not only sell collectible furniture, but apparently also produce it.

A year ago, when I talked about this, I believed that by now we would be at a slightly different point than we found ourselves. I still cherish this idea of ​​reproducing Soviet designs, but the project has not yet been launched. What's good about replicas: not everyone is ready to acquire old, antique furniture - even a restored and reupholstered chair, but still of a respectable age - and a replica is another matter. I didn’t reinvent the wheel, but just a couple of years ago in Paris in a gallery Yves Gastou I saw repetitions Ettore Sottsassa, limited edition. Evelina Khromchenko said: “I will be your first customer for a replica.” And she's not alone. Will it be manufactured here or overseas? Given current realities, most likely here.

But without reproducing Soviet quality?

Are you talking about materials? Yes, the quality fell, and most of the furniture of that time was later thrown away precisely for this reason. But the source materials were normal. When we began to study this period, then Yuri Vasilievich Sluchevsky(86-year-old professor of the furniture department, Honored Artist Yuri Sluchevsky still teaches the main major course “Furniture Design” at the S. G. Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Sciences. - TANR) talked about exhibitions at VDNKh in the late 1950s - early 1960s, when prototypes were made in the experimental workshop of Stroganovka - from high-quality, durable materials. In mass production, of course, other materials were used. And the prototypes were distributed to dachas and apartments.

On March 31, its work, dedicated to the eighth anniversary of the Heritage Gallery, ends. Today this gallery is the only one in Russia that deals with collectible Western and Soviet design.

The owner of "Heritage" Kristina Krasnyanskaya told the editor-in-chief of "365" Yana Kharina what the phenomenon of Soviet modernism is, what is good about "Khrushchevs" and whether the furniture of the 60s will have a collectible value.

Walking through the exhibition, I realized that many things here were painfully familiar to me. Who is this exhibition intended for: people familiar with Soviet design, or those who did not have time to encounter it?

We have a comprehensive exhibition. Of course, it is designed for both types of guests. On the one hand, this is interesting to people who were surrounded by the Soviet situation. On the other hand, it is educational for a younger audience, and one of the main goals of our exhibition is to break the mold. Showing what is Soviet is not the Soviet way.

It is no coincidence that several years ago the gallery focused on Soviet design: there are a lot of famous things, names that are not known not only in the West, but even here. Due to historical reasons, a page has been removed from the context of our art history. There is a whole galaxy of skilled architects, sculptors, designers, who are known today to a very narrow circle of specialists. The concept of “Soviet design” is very broad. Avant-garde artists turned to design, everyone tried to do something. But not a single piece of avant-garde design has survived to this day. But things from the late avant-garde and constructivism have been preserved, including Boris Iofan (one of the leading representatives of Stalinist architecture. - Note “365.”) In our collection there is one chair from “House on the Embankment.” The rest can be seen in museums.

What exactly is “Soviet modernism”?

We are talking about the latest style in the history of Soviet design - modernism. Officially it dates from 1955-85. When you remember what Soviet modernism is, there is a reference to great architecture. For example, to the same unfortunate demolished Rossiya Hotel, which was one of the brightest objects of Soviet modernism. This style arose after the death of Stalin, when another government came, a new cult of personality. At the same time, a completely unusual period for the USSR came - the so-called “thaw”, when the “Iron Curtain” opened slightly and a stream of fresh western wind came to us. The breakthrough was the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957, especially for which Picasso made the “Dove of Peace.”

What is presented at the exhibition?

Our exhibition presents not only design, but also photography, painting, designer glass, bronze and porcelain. The task of the curators was to show how these things, in their aesthetics, are in tune with what was being done in the West. With the end of World War II, there was an urgent need to resettle communal apartments. People are starting to get their own housing, “Khrushchevka”. These same “Khrushchevs” are one of the negative patterns with which most people associate that period. In fact, this is a very interesting style that replaced the Stalinist Empire style. And those designers and architects who worked under Stalin felt uncomfortable because this style is devoid of decorative principles, it is more minimalist, it is heavy in form and has its roots in the ideas of Bauhaz: functionality, simplicity of lines, laconicism, massiveness.

But for young designers it was a vast field of activity, where they could make a name for themselves and leave behind a completely new architecture. And over these 30 years, a style such as Soviet modernism was formed, which was in tune with the fashionable design of the 50s and 60s in the West. Stalin's bulky furniture could not fit into the new compact apartments. A new furniture size and furniture designer appear. The first designer of that time, Yu.V. Sluchevsky, who introduced modular cabinet furniture, is still alive. At first, it caused terrible indignation among the public. But this furniture was approved and launched. This style has, on the one hand, socio-economic justification, and on the other hand, this is the aesthetics that existed in the West. This is a period of abstraction, this is the culture that developed in parallel with official socialist realism.

Are there any concepts or names that exhibition guests need to know?

Exhibitions are made to tell people something. If a person comes here and knows everything, then he is either an expert in this field, or a collector and is looking for things to purchase. In general, exhibitions are essentially created to show new material. I think that this was a difficult project for us: we had to combine very different things in our direction, and so that it didn’t turn into some kind of mess, we had to correctly expose it. And of course, I wanted things to be in dialogue with each other. We have an early piece of Oscar Rabin on display with a burning bible and next to The Ukrainian Uprising of 1970. This is an experimental thing. We want to force, in the good sense of the word, to look at the old in a new way. There was a whole galaxy of talented people who made completely avant-garde things that would fit perfectly into a modern Western interior today and it would be completely incomprehensible that this was done in the USSR. That’s why it’s valuable because it was done by artists living in a closed state. This is a parallel aesthetics, a parallel culture.

Am I correct in understanding that the exhibition was created to show unique items and not mass-produced items?

Undoubtedly . When we started working on this particular period, until the end of the 50s, the rule was that architects were also designers. They did great architecture, they also did interiors. Boris Iofan, while designing the House on the Embankment, also created its interiors. Karo Alabyan, one of the leading designers and architects of the Stalinist Empire style, erected not only the building of the Soviet Army Theater, but also all the furniture for it. It was entirely his project. It was in the 50s that the division between architects and designers began. And, of course, behind every thing there is a person who invented it. Our exhibition contains only original items. Thanks to the Stroganov Academy, we were able to find the author of each item. Yes, these were design groups, because design began to become depersonalized, but behind any object there are people. However, this was not advertised; it was unnecessary.

Does this furniture have collectible value?

Furniture from this period is already in fashion. I'm sure that in five years it will be in demand a little more than it is now. I will not say that it has a collector's value, but due to the fact that it disappears from the market, it will be one of the main objects of search. Today, even what was in mass production is difficult to find. They were mercilessly parted with: some took her to the dacha, others simply threw her out. We show here Soviet things, not Czech, Romanian or GDR.

Furniture is a reflection of the era. But from the point of view of today's trend, in the wake of general interest in the 50-60s, there is an opportunity to see what was happening in the USSR.

The exhibition is called “Soviet design - a phenomenon of culture and design of the twentieth century.” What is this phenomenon?

In general, the concept of Soviet modernism is a phenomenal definition. Modernism is a term associated with Western art in the first third of the twentieth century. The phenomenon of Soviet modernism is also that it is a style that can be integrated into the international context. There are things that are absolutely international, without propaganda overtones, without a totalitarian touch or propaganda. These things can easily stand on a par with objects of Western design both in museums and decorate apartments.

What do you like most about the exhibition??

I really like the shell sofa. I, of course, like the works of our nonconformist artists, the wonderful diptych Viktor Pivovarov. He and Ilya Kabakov bought paint that was not suitable for painting at all. This is a technical paint, nitro enamel, quite smelly with a Soviet smell. They made works on hardboard that immediately became objects. She did this during his “abstract” period, which few people know about. And Kabakov’s works, which are presented here, were also made using this nitro-enamel technique. I really like Erik Bulatov and Oleg Vasiliev. Made of glass – a stunning decorative vase “Electrification” by artist Helena Põld. The vase belongs to the designer's glass; there are such things in only two museums. I really love the sculptures of Nikolai Silis and consider him the Soviet Henry Moore. It is surprising that the aesthetics of their work are very close, despite the fact that Silis had no idea that such a sculptor as Henry Moore existed. It’s interesting that at the same time, in different parts of the world, completely different people were doing the same thing.

Let's look 10-15 years ahead. Is it possible that you will make an exhibition dedicated to the design of the 90s and 2000s?

No, and I'll tell you why. After 1985, domestic production practically disappeared, imports replaced everything. At this point, our design activity is completed. The 90s are generally not the most favorable period in recent history; little was produced at all.

And now?

Unfortunately no. Probably, at the Stroganov Academy there are talented students who do good final papers. But it doesn't go any further. My dream is to create a pool of designers who would create worthy things with their own personality, which would be worthy of appearing at Basel.

Kristina Krasnyanskaya is the daughter of the famous entrepreneur Georgy Krasnyansky (a former partner of Filaret Galchev, he now heads the board of directors of the Karakan Invest coal company). She oversees three collections at once - family, personal and gallery. “The family collection began to take shape about 15 years ago. We somehow fell into a general trend when everyone started buying art,” says Kristina Krasnyanskaya. - But there are some things that I am now buying for myself. It’s not an easy process because you have to constantly separate yourself as a collector from yourself as a gallerist.”

The Krasnyanskys, like many Russian collectors, began with classical Russian painting of the 19th-20th centuries - Aivazovsky, Zhukovsky, Meshchersky, Konchalovsky, Kustodiev. The Heritage Gallery, which Christina opened on Petrovka in February 2008, initially specialized in artists from the Russian diaspora. But about five years ago the girl became interested in design. “Parents are less interested in design, although they also have Scandinavian modern items. It seems to me that in Russia people have only just begun to immerse themselves in this topic,” says Christina.

She herself took her passion even further and added objects created in the USSR to European design. When we met at Heritage at the exhibition “Soviet modernism - a phenomenon of culture and design of the 20th century,” things from her personal collection were on display there.

According to Krasnyanskaya, before her, Russian collectors practically did not deal with Soviet furniture as such.

The girl sees the goal of her museum projects as “showing the Soviet in a non-Soviet way.” She enjoys integrating Soviet design into an international context.

To this end, Krasnyanskaya has been taking items from her collection to the prestigious international fair Art Basel Miami for several years now. Many of the exhibits are real rarities, and Western curators appreciate this, she says: “I have 23 objects from a communal house in Smolensk in the late 1930s, made by the Leningrad sculptor Krestovsky, this is such a transition from constructivism to late art deco. I recently exhibited them at Art Miaimi Basel – it was a project dedicated to the cultural phenomenon of communal houses. After this, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London approached me with a proposal to do a joint project. Foreigners react instantly to everything related to propaganda design.”

Her design collection already numbers several hundred pieces. “There is a fairly impressive collection of furniture - constructivist objects by Boris Iofan from 1929, in particular, his famous chair from the House on the Embankment, unique designer items of propaganda design from the communal house of 1937; there are author’s items of the Stalinist Empire style, there is the Soviet art deco of Nikolai Lansere, which will be exhibited here in May - and the final big style that is on display now: the so-called Soviet modernism, from 1955 to 1985, - Christina lists, walking through the exhibition hall - Just at the beginning of this period, the Khrushchev buildings, so disliked by many, appeared - and with them a new style. First of all, this is small-sized furniture that would be convenient in small apartments.”

Soviet modernist design, it must be said, is rarely found on the market - according to Krasnyanskaya, with the exception of museum-quality rarities, furniture from the 1960s was often thrown into landfills, burned, or sent to dachas. But she was lucky with her partners: “When we started working on this topic, we worked very closely with the Stroganov Academy, on the basis of which an experimental workshop was once created. There they made samples that were exhibited at three major exhibitions dedicated to the new design - 1958, 1964 and 1967.”

“When we went to Art Miami Basel for the first time, Stroganovka helped us find things from these exhibitions, which after the shows were distributed to the dachas and apartments of those who could afford them. So we ended up with things from these apartments - prototypes that were made from higher quality materials than in mass production. But we don’t give up mass-produced furniture either, because there’s almost none of it left today.”

Krasnyanskaya's Soviet furniture does not look Soviet, largely due to high-quality restoration. “We don’t have the goal of replicating the same fabrics that were used in the original,” she says. - Of course, we select it in such a way that the spirit of the time, the feeling of the era is preserved - but these things receive a new interpretation thanks to some game moment. For example, these chairs from the late 1960s and early 1970s are upholstered in Loro Piana fabric, which would be difficult to imagine in the Soviet Union.” The chairs are part of her own collection and have already participated in several exhibitions.

Krasnyanskaya’s new apartment also has a pair of Soviet armchairs – she sees “a certain chic” in them. Many pieces of modernist furniture presented in her gallery can easily be confused with Scandinavian design, which has recently been in great demand on the art market.

In the four years that she has been collecting furniture and home decor, Scandinavian design from the 1950s and 1960s has tripled in value.

Kristina also sees investment potential in things marked “made in the USSR”: “Of course, interest in Soviet design is growing. Collectible super-things, which are practically absent on the market, are always in demand and are expensive. But I am sure that things that were mass produced and are present at this exhibition simply as a reflection of the era will sooner or later also be appreciated.”

Perhaps the most impressive objects from Krasnyanskaya’s personal collection presented here are Soviet art glass. “I believe that unlike porcelain, this niche has not yet been so popularized. Let's start with the fact that the art glass was recreated by Vera Mukhina, the author of “The Worker and the Collective Farm Woman” and the cut glass. Since 1934, she headed the experimental workshop at the Leningrad Mirror Factory. I have an absolutely stunning plexiglass vase of hers from the late 1940s,” she says.

At Heritage, Christina exhibited a glass vase from the late 1960s with a base in the shape of linear insulators and power lines engraved in a circle. The author is Estonian artist Helen Põld, who worked in that very experimental workshop of the Leningrad Mirror Factory. “It’s an amazing thing - delicate workmanship and at the same time a production message,” comments Christina. - The circulation was very small, such things are in only a few museums. Pure art! She also includes in the same category a triptych from the late 1970s with the unexpectedly relevant title “Ukrainian Uprising” - powerful, expressive vases made of experimental double-layered red and white glass, reminiscent of the works of Emile Galle. Krasnyanskaya found them in a private collection in Ukraine: “They were not used in everyday life - they stood as an art object. There were several glass production facilities in Ukraine, in Kyiv and other places.”

Kristina herself was born in Kyiv, like her mother, and the first thing in their family art collection came from there: a watercolor by Taras Shevchenko with a Kyiv look - the main Ukrainian poet was also an artist. Over the course of a decade and a half, they managed to assemble a museum-level collection of Russian paintings and graphics, as Krasnyanskaya says. She dreams of one day showing the entire family collection in one of the major museums. The space of her gallery is simply not enough for this: the Krasnyansky family collection is contained in four storage facilities - three in Moscow and one in Geneva.

Krasnyanskaya does not name the estimated cost of the collection, nor does she disclose the costs of its formation. Her gallery employs five people, but she, being an art critic by training, makes all decisions about buying or selling objects herself. Unless you consult with fellow collectors about authenticity or pricing if there are any doubts. And lately he has been participating in auctions only through representatives, and not personally - he says that the emotional atmosphere there is like in a casino, which is why you can easily fall outside your pre-planned budget.

While the big family exhibition hasn’t happened, Krasnyanskaya is showing everyone exhibits from her own collection of design objects and the collections of her friends at Heritage. She does not charge a fee for visiting.

Another feature of the Krasnyanskaya Gallery is the collectors’ dinners. “This is often done in the West, but we were one of the first in Russia. The goal is for private collectors to display their acquisitions in a pleasant environment,” she says as our tour comes to an end. - We made a serious musical program for these meetings. Yuri Bashmet, Denis Matsuev, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, Vladimir Spivakov and my good friend Yuri Rozum performed here. There were no commercial goals - just a gesture on the part of the gallery. Any collector, no matter what he says, wants to show off his acquisitions.”

The Museum of Architecture is hosting the exhibition “Soviet Design. From constructivism to modernism." It shows rare pieces of furniture and decorative art from the last century. The creator of the exhibition and director of the Heritage gallery, Kristina Krasnyanskaya, told VD about the correct collecting of Soviet things, trends in today's art market and the need for a Design Museum in Moscow.

Kristina Krasnyanskaya. Source: promo

Masterpieces of Soviet design
Our exhibition differs from numerous exhibitions on topics of Soviet history and life. It's not about everyday life, it's about art. The halls display very rare, one-of-a-kind, original items. The main character, of course, is furniture. But in parallel, porcelain, varnishes, and textiles of this period are also presented.

Soviet design today certainly deserves a museum and is worthy of becoming a collectible. Of course, when impressionist paintings or Russian masterpieces are sold at Sotheby’s auction, everyone talks about it, our media writes about it. When design auctions take place, there is much less information and resonance. Meanwhile, both the prices and the masterpieces found at these auctions are not lower than the level.

USSR Pavilion at the 1939 International Exhibition in New York. . Source: fund of the State Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev

Eras and styles
We are constantly trying to change the prevailing attitude towards Soviet design as something that carries with it negative energy. Of course it was a dramatic time. But those who start collecting get involved, see the nuances, notice how time has changed the lifestyle. For example, the era after the death of Stalin is the “era of the thaw”, the time of the Khrushchev era, new standards. Small-sized housing appeared, for which furniture had to be adapted. Watching this change of form is incredibly interesting.

exhibition “Soviet Design. From constructivism to modernism." Source: promo

Stalinist luxury
Probably the most spectacular section at the exhibition is the Stalinist Soviet Empire style. We show rare items from the Soviet Army Theater and an experimental vase from Mukhina’s workshop from the 1940s, drawings of vases by Boris Smirnov (Stalin’s favorite designer)…

exhibition “Soviet Design. From constructivism to modernism." Source: promo

And even in this pretentious and imperial world, amazing incidents happened. Take, for example, the stunning panel of Isidore Frikh-Hare, which is built on the principle of the icon of all saints. Once we had his one and a half meter sculpture of Russian and European workers passionately kissing under a red banner with the inscription “Workers of all countries, unite!” Remember, everyone was outraged by the depiction of policemen kissing, made in the early 2000s - and here it is 1937!

USSR Pavilion at the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. Source: fund of the State Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev

Who needs things from Khrushchev buildings?
There is always an element of personal memory in collecting things. Take, for example, furniture from the 1960s, which appeals to my generation of 30-year-olds. But my parents don't like her at all. They had to live with her in not the best conditions. But for the connoisseur or serious collector, in addition to nostalgia and memories, there are also trends in the art market. People who are, as they say, in the trend know that the 1960s are now on the crest of a wave. We had the same thing, just a lot was forgotten. Fortunately, Yuri Vasilyevich Sluchevsky, one of the leading designers of that time, is still alive.

exhibition “Soviet Design. From constructivism to modernism."