COSMOSCOW AND VEB CENTRE (31, NOVINSKY BOULEVARD) WILL PRESENT THE SUDDEN OASIS PROJECT

The renovated VEB Centre (31, Novinsky Boulevard) was turned into an art space. For a month, it will house works by contemporary artists from among Cosmoscow contemporary art fair participants. In the central atrium of the VEB Centre, the unique Sudden Oasis art project will feature a range of sculptures and installations, transforming the space into a refreshing oasis amidst the bustling city. The project is curated by Daria Epine.

Participating artists: Kristina Sidorova, Ivan Gorshkov, Igor Samolet, Lyubov Remizova, Elina Marusova, Boris Makarov, Vilgeny Melnikov, Katya Isaeva, Galina Agafonova, Yakov Khomich, Stepan Lysenko, Yulia Staroverova.

“As one of the largest Moscow projects, Cosmoscow goes on interacting with citizens beyond the framework of the fair, introducing them to the work of cutting-edge contemporary artists on the venue of the renovated VEB Centre one month before the opening of the fair’s 13th edition. The Sudden Oasis exhibition is an example of a site-specific project inextricably linked to the space in which it is incorporated. The art is literally becoming an integral part of the building’s architecture, making it not just visible but also tangible. It transforms the usual and creates a new urban environment,” says Nikolay Korkov, CEO of Cosmoscow. 

The Sudden Oasis emerges in the heart of the urban landscape, amidst glass, concrete and flickering screens, not just as a place to relax and reboot, but as a portal into a surreal contemporary art world where technology meets nature. The project brings to life a dream of utopian escapism, of a place amidst the hustle and bustle of the metropolis where one can move into an entirely new space full of mirage and associations.

“VEB Centre continues its transformation into a contemporary cultural and business cluster that combines business environment, retail and art. We support city cultural projects and create a unique inspirational experience for VEB Centre’s guests, providing a platform for contemporary artists. We are happy to implement the Sudden Oasis project together with Cosmoscow, supporting contemporary cultural initiatives and developing the urban environment,” says Mikhail Podrugin, Executive Director of the VEB Centre.

The exhibition includes images from another dimension, teasing the viewers with their vividness and irrational abstraction. In the “museum” showcases there will be fragments reminiscent of fossils, but not of the past, but of that natural world that has been pushed out by concrete and glass. Digital flowers bloom on the screens — hybrids, mutants, echoes of real forms. They seem to remember nature, but are already distorted by the light of pixels and algorithms.

“The city we live in has long ceased to be just architecture: it’s like a jungle, only not green, but digital. Here everything moves, changes, flashes, demands attention. We wander in this data landscape like a dense foliage where every step is a new notification, a new encounter, a new task. We exist as if in the midst of a constant fair of impressions, and the more of them there are, the less time and space there is left to feel at least one of them. Pauses become a rarity, a privilege. This is why a total reboot, a splash back to authenticity, is so desirable,” says exhibition curator Daria Epine.

The exhibition is open at the VEB Centre (31, Novinsky Boulevard) through September. The project will end on the closing day of the 13th edition of the Cosmoscow fair. Entrance to the VEB Centre is free from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.