Cosmoscow Art Fair in Moscow offers a revealing snapshot of Russia’s divided art scene, bringing together nearly 100 galleries, international exhibitors, and works by émigré artists. In the face of political isolation and growing censorship, the fair highlights how art continues to defy boundaries and foster global dialogue.

With almost one hundred domestic galleries as well as a scattering from India and Iran, some confusion over the difference between 'for-profit' and 'non-profit' booths, and a tourism trade show with the cryptic slogan 'Tourism beyond Globalisation' taking place next door, not to mention buoyant crowds queuing for free cocktails, Russia’s leading contemporary art fair is an accurate reflection of the country’s chaotic art market. Some of Russia´s biggest galleries habitually ignore it such as Vladey (formerly Ovcharenko and previously known as Regina) and Triumph and Krokin galleries prefer its new rival |catalog|.

Despite the country's growing isolation since 2022, Cosmoscow proves that art can transcend borders. Artwin gallery, which closed its Moscow space and recently opened a new one in London, is a regular at the fair. Another regular, seasoned dealer Ekatherina Iragui, told me she was flying to Paris after the preview. She was heading to her gallery’s branch on the outskirts of the French capital to open a solo exhibition by Pavel Pepperstein (b. 1966), a Moscow-based artist. He is immensely popular with collectors yet is not represented at Cosmoscow this year.

The most expensive pieces on offer at the fair are all by émigré artists: New York-based Alexander Kosolapov (born 1943), Paris-based Valery Koshlyakov (born 1962), and Cologne-based George Pusenkoff (born 1953). Curiously, the first two are represented by the same gallery, Syntax. Prices for Sots-Art paintings and sculptures by Kosolapov start at 3,000,000 Roubles (€30,000), with editions offered at 500,000 Roubles (€5,000). Prices for Koshlyakov start from 5,000,000 Roubles (50,000 euros) for the smallest painting on offer. Even the artists' rivalries seem to cross borders unscathed. Koshlyakov, for whom Syntax booked a separate booth, insisted that it should not be located opposite the booth featuring Kosolapov's work.

The reason being that two of the artworks on offer — a recent Koshlyakov painting and a well-known, ironic Kosolapov sculpture ‘Mickey and Minnie. The Worker and the Kolkhoz Woman’ from 2004 – are based on the same Soviet monument, ‘The Worker and the Kolkhoz Woman’, by Vera Mukhina (1889–1953). Pusenkoff, who has not exhibited in Moscow since 2013, wandered around pop/off/art gallery's booth, happily posing for photos in front of his enormous abstract 'Erased Paintings' (2020), while the dealer invited visitors to the artist's upcoming solo exhibition in December. Prices for his works range from a modest €2,000 for the smallest sculptures to €50,000 for the largest paintings.

Cosmoscow´s venue, the newly built Timiryazev Convention Centre on the outskirts of the city is thankfully not short of space and since 2024, the fair has expanded to occupy two floors instead of one. Many of the galleries have booked two booths and are dedicating one of them to a single artist. The most eye-catching solo exhibitions are of Sergey Shutov at Agency Art.Ru, with paintings and a video installation dating from 1987 to 2000 priced from 800,000 to 3,500,000 Roubles (8,000 to €35,000), and Olga Chernysheva at Piranesi LAB, with elegant original and print editions of monochromatic works on paper priced from 50,000 to 800,000 Roubles (€500 to €8,000) apiece.

One of the most expensive works of art at the fair is a unique rug with a minimalist, abstract design and a round hole in the middle. Designed by Mikhail Molochnikov (b. 1963) for Atelier Choutko, it is priced at 4,800,000 roubles (€48,000). Two photographs taken in the Donbass mines by Gleb Kosorukov in the 2000s are among the most expensive prints at the fair. A striking portrait of a miner with a piercing gaze from the 'Heroes of Labour' series (edition of five) and a photo of a piece of flower-patterned cloth are offered by Moscow’s Pennlab gallery for 1,000,000 Roubles (€10,000) each. At the other end of the price range are collages by the Yakutian artist Jen Sur (b. 1988), which were sold at a modest 20,000 roubles (€200) each at the booth of the Society of Contemporary Siberian Artists.

Many of the Society's works of art at Cosmoscow and its satellite Blazar were sold during the first hours of the VIP preview, with toothy ceramic faces by Buryat artist Amgalan Rinchine (b. 1986) proving especially popular. Self-organised communities are becoming an increasingly strong presence at the fair, competing on equal terms with traditional galleries. Parazit, a rebellious artists' association from Saint Petersburg, has booked a stand on the ground floor, while another artistic community, Studio Tikhaya from Nizhny Novgorod, is present in a non-commercial section hosted by the RBC media group. Although their booth is officially 'non-profit', the studio's representatives hinted that purchases could be negotiated directly with the artists. This blurring of boundaries between 'commercial' and 'non-commercial' booths is evident everywhere in this year´s edition of Cosmoscow. For example, Moscow-based photographer Alexander Gronsky (b. 1980) is exhibiting his photographic and video works in a solo display at the Limonov Foundation's booth in the non-profit section on the second floor. However, when I asked Gronsky if the works were for sale, he told me to ask Jessica Gallery for a price list downstairs.

The winner of the 'Best Booth' as chosen by Cosmoscow´s expert panel, resembles a museum of unfinished paintings, featuring an extensive collection of icon panels of various shapes and sizes, all painted white. SPAS (Saviour), a project by artist Leonid Kostin (b. 1988), is presented by Futuro Gallery from Nizhny Novgorod and makes a silent yet powerful statement at a fair that is notoriously plagued by censorship from Moscow city government. Even the most vigilant censor would not find a white board offensive. A few other galleries were not so fortunate. This year, the censors appeared to dislike Soviet symbols and tropes, especially young pioneers and they instructed the removal of one painting depicting young pioneers by the late émigré artist Dmitry Vrubel (1960–2022) from the wall of the St Petersburg Pop Up gallery's booth. The painting was part of the Evangelical Project series and was previously exhibited at the Art Moscow fair in 2008 and at the national PERMM museum in Perm the following year.

Alexander Sharov, owner of the 11.12 gallery in Moscow, was asked to remove ´Greeting´ by Aleksey Azarov (b. 1975), a painting depicting young pioneer girls attempting to befriend an ominous-looking giant spider. However, Sharov ignored them and left the painting where it was throughout the preview. It transpired that the high-profile censorship case from last year´s edition of Cosmoscow had a happy ending. A painting by Irina Zatulovskaya (b.1954) depicting a coat with a quote by Ossip Mandelstam, which was removed from the ´Who I Am Gallery´ booth in 2024, inspired the artist and the gallery owner fashion designer, Jacob Yakubov, to collaborate. Zatulovskaya embroidered five coats from the ´Who I Am´ brand with the same Mandelstam quote. This year, the gallery is offering these coats for 200,000 roubles (€2,000) each. Yakubov told Art Focus Now that the original painting attracted a lot of publicity because of the censorship scandal and was subsequently purchased by the Aksenov Family Foundation. This year, he is offering Zatulovskaya’s deceptively 'naïve' paintings on rusty metal for 500,000–1,000,000 roubles (€5,000–10,000) apiece. At the same booth, you can purchase quirky works on paper by the renowned mythmaker Pyotr Perevesentsev (b. 1962) for just 35,000 roubles (€350) each — a real bargain!

Cosmoscow´s best-hidden gem and biggest surprise is tucked away in a quiet corner at the darkened, non-commercial booth of one of the fair's 'partners' — a popular buzzword for 'sponsors' — a meat-processing company called Borodin's Meat House. The company has commissioned a new video piece by renowned art group AES+F. Based in New York and Berlin, the collective is famous for its epic, über-glamorous, multi-channel video installations. However, they have not released any new videos since 2015, with the exception of Turandot in 2020, which was originally designed as a video projection for an opera performance. Shortly after Russian troops entered Ukraine in 2022, the group announced that it had cut all its ties with Russia. Their new 6-minute piece, which is premiering at Cosmoscow, is called ´Digital Safari´. It features a group of rather menacing-looking characters with human bodies and animal heads that resemble ancient Egyptian gods against a jungle backdrop. According to the curator of the project, Daria Tishkova, the artists compare contemporary life to the constant hunt for the perfect image, where it is difficult to distinguish between predator and victim. Indeed, the characters, dressed in designer clothes, spend most of the video staring directly into the camera. This encounter seems equally bewildering for both parties, reminding us that art often emerges where you least expect it.