About the Cultural Foundation “EKATERINA”

The Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» was established in 2002 as a non-commercial Charity. Since then the Foundation has been engaged in a variety of activities, such as organizing exhibitions, publishing, collecting works by contemporary artists, and supporting cultural and educational projects.

The Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» has been consistently implementing the projects of large-scale exhibitions presenting the brightest and most interesting samples of Russian art.

In 2004 - 2005 the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» undertook the first large-scale project devoted to the artists of the Knave of Diamonds group.

The exhibition entitled «The Russian Painters of «The Knave of Diamonds» Group: Between Cézanne and the Avant-Garde» was held in the spring of 2004 in the State Exhibition Hall of Monaco under the patronage of His Serene Highness, the Hereditary Prince of Monaco Albert II. For the first time a single exhibition encompassed works from collections belonging to the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, and more than 15 regional museums and private collections. Different versions of the exhibition were also presented at the State Russian Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.

In 2005 the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» participated in the largest retrospective of Russian art: the «Russia!» exhibition in New York at the Guggenheim museum. The Foundation supported the publication of the exhibition catalogue in Russian.

In 2009 the Foundation in cooperation with the New National Museum of Monaco and with participation of the State Tretyakov Gallery realized an exhibition project, devoted to the 100th anniversary of Sergey Diaghilev’s “Russian Ballets”. The exhibition named “Etonne moi!” Sergey Diaghilev and Russian Ballet Seasons” (curators John Bowlt and Zelfira Tregulova), was shown in the Principality of Monaco in summer 2009. A different version of the exhibition entitled “Feast of Wonders. To the 100th anniversary of Sergey Diaghilev’s Russian Ballets in Paris” is being presented at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow till January 31, 2010.

A special place in the Foundation's activity belongs to projects devoted to Russian artists of the second part of XXth century. On the initiative of the Foundation, a large-scale retrospective exhibition of Erik Bulatov's works was organized. The exhibition was on display at the State Tretyakov Gallery's building in Krymsky Val. For the first time, the Russian public could see over 100 paintings by the artist — from early works created in the 1960s to most recent ones, most of which never been shown before.

In February 2007, the first private exhibition halls opened in Moscow — the halls of the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» in Kuznetsky Most. The exhibition “Movement. Evolution. Art”, realized within the framework of the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, demonstrated the collection of “EKATERINA”s founders in the form of a large exposition for the firs time ¦ the exhibition encompassed the period of 1916-2006, and included 75 works.
In April – June 2007, Vladimir Yankilevsky's retrospective exhibition «The Moment of Eternity» was held at the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA», organized jointly with the State Russian Museum. Large triptychs, pentaptychs and artifacts were assembled from the private collections and museums around the world.
At the beginning of 2009, the Foundation hosted the first retrospective show of an important proponent of Russian art, a pioneer of the «Grim style», the maître Tair Salakhov. The exhibition presented most famous works of the master from Russian museums, as well as his paintings from Azerbaijan Museums and private collections, which are known mostly by catalogs and art books.

Another important aspect of the Foundation's exhibition program is the introduction of modern international art to the Russian public.

In 2007 the Foundation halls saw the opening of a unique exhibition of iconic American artist Robert Wilson's «VOOM Portraits». The portraits of famous people and images of animals, created in unique digital technology were shown on 34 plasma screens.

In 2008 the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» hosted a personal exhibition of works by Andreas Gursky, the internationally renowned master of contemporary photography. The project was presented as a part of the Photo biennale 2008. It was the first large-scale exhibition of Gursky's works in Russia — 28 photos covering the period from 1984 to 2007 were exhibited.

In 2009 the Foundation hosted David Lynch’s personal exhibition “The Air is on Fire”, which was held in the context of the festival “Fashion and Style in Photography 2009”. The exhibition reflected a full spectrum of famous filmmakers’ creative searches.

The Foundation also hosted a solo exhibition of Viktor Alimpiev’s works entitled «Whose is this Exhalation?», which was the first retrospective show, presenting  video art and paintings of  one of the most interesting young artists.
The Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» effectively cooperates with state museums, art centers and Foundations both in Russia and abroad.

The Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» has participated in two large-scale projects of the State Tretyakov Gallery: «Russian Pop-Art» and «Sots Art. Political Art in Russia» (Moscow-Paris). In 2007, the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA» provided support for the City of Paris Modern Art Museum (Musee d`Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris) in organizing an exhibition of Erik Bulatov's works entitled «Vot» (“That's It”).

In autumn 2008, the Cultural Foundation “EKATERINA” hosted the unique project “The Grace Kelly Years, Princess of Monaco” (curated by Frederic Mitterand and designed by Nathalie Criniere), organized by Grimaldi Forum (Monaco) and the Foundation. The exhibition drew on a collection of the Princess's personal belongings (including articles of clothing, jewelry, accessories, film memorabilia, correspondence, as well as unique photographs and video archives, including not only documentaries but also home videos made by Grace). The exhibition was shown with great success: it was running for two months and 65 000 people visited the display.

Currently the Foundation actively participate in the largest Russian festival of contemporary art ¦ the Moscow Biennale. In 2009 within the framework of the Biennale the Foundation presented the exhibition “Persona. Image. Time. Human Representation in Art: from Modernism to the Present – Day”, demonstrating more than 115 works of art from  Ekaterina and Vladimir Semenikhin’s collection and cover the period from the end of XXth century to the early XXIth century. The Foundation demonstrated another special project “Wonder World. Expecting a Restless Future” prepared by the Italian curator Stefano Pezzato.

The publishing program requires the special attention. Almost all the exhibitions in the past have been preceded by a unique catalogue. On the part of the Foundation a three-volume illustrated publication on Dmitry Krasnopevtsev's works was prepared by the Bonfi Publishing House with the support of the Cultural Foundation «EKATERINA». In cooperation with the New National Museum of Monaco and “SKIRA” Publishing House a unique catalogue “Feast of Wonders. Sergey Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes” was published.

For the coming future the Foundation is planning to organize a personal exhibition of Jean-Marc Bustamante to be realized within the framework of the cultural exchange program “The Year of Russia in France, the Year of France in Russia”, as well as a project devoted to the classics of Soviet non-official art.