The 14th edition of the Cosmoscow International Contemporary Art Fair was attended by more than 60,000 people

The 14th edition of the Cosmoscow International Contemporary Art Fair took place at the Timiryazev Centre, supported by its General Partner, Sber: GigaChat and Sber Private Banking, Automobile Partner VOYAH, and companies including Hutton, MR, ēdomo, Lamoda, Beluga, Tête de Cheval, 12 STOREEZ, Azbuka Vkusa, Konstantin Chaykin, Geltek, Mistral, Chupa Chups, Kids Program’s partner Kenguru, The Carlton, Moscow Official Hotel, Moscow Medicine, the official Insurance Partner SberInsurance, Technical Partner MONTAZHNIK, and the Official Water company edis.

• Cosmoscow 14th edition was attended by more than 60,000 people.
• The Cosmoscow fair featured 107 galleries, 112 gallery stands, 23 partner projects, including 14 collaborations between brands and contemporary artists, as well as 11 non-profit cultural projects, and 4 stands in the international section.
• The 14th edition of the fair brought together, in a single venue, works by artists from India, Iran, China, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Canada, Japan, Greece, and other countries, alongside galleries from various Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Kaluga, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, Voronezh, and Ufa.
• The fair featured two Indian galleries (ART INCEPT and THRESHOLD ART GALLERY), a special project involving an Iranian gallery (“Persian Art: Dialogue of Generations”), and a project by collectors Ekaterina and Andrey Terebenin (“Dvara: Conceptual Weaving”), which focused on contemporary and traditional Indian art.
• The fair’s discussion program, held across the Lecture Hall and the Media Forum, featured 22 events involving representatives from the art community and related industries. In 2026, the theme for the Lecture Hall was “Crafts and Meanings. Traditional Crafts in Contemporary Art,” while the Media Forum focused on the theme “Scenarios for Tomorrow.”
• The Syntax Gallery was recognized as the Cosmoscow 2026 Best Stand.
• An online fair on the TEO platform featuring works presented by 86 galleries will run through September 30.

GigaLounge: art and technologies

At the Cosmoscow fair, Sber presented GigaLounge, a manifesto for the new synergy between art and technology. Over the course of four days (September 3–6), the space functioned as a laboratory for creative states. Anna Zavediy curated the artistic component.

GigaLounge united two realities. The first is a zone of original installations created by artists based on reimagining the works of GigaArt competition winners. The second is the open space of the AI ​​art festival itself, where every guest becomes a creator. Combining tradition and modern technology, visitors were able to express their perspective on the country and transform their personal sense of Russia into a visual statement using GigaChat.

At the center of the space there were three spherum boxes, immersing guests in key states of the creative act: the all-consuming “Love” by Katya Ryblova, the contemplative “Nature” by Sasha Palm, and the expressive “Scene” by Kristina Purshina. 

Sber Private Lounge: personal approach

Sber Private Lounge serves as an intimate art lounge for Sber’s most premium clients, designed as a space for quiet conversation, personalized attention, and exploration of contemporary art. It allowed visitors to escape the hustle and bustle of the fair, take a break, connect with like-minded individuals, and receive a personalized art consultation. 

The space combined privacy, comfort, and aesthetics: a warm, natural palette, soft, diffused lighting, tactile materials, expressive interior details, and carefully selected furniture create the atmosphere of an intimate art lounge. Here, contemporary art doesn’t exist separately from the space, but rather becomes a natural part of it: it shapes the mood, sets the rhythm, and invites intimate exploration. A special place in the interior is occupied by an exhibition of specially selected works by contemporary artists.

Artist of the Year: life cycle of an idea

Igor Samolet’s large-scale installation “Splash” served as the fair’s visual landmark, a nine-meter-tall “beacon” amid the swift, shifting, and colorful waves of the fair’s audience. Composed of three parts, the work symbolically depicts the life cycle of an artistic idea: from its emergence and formation as a work of art to its eventual sale and purchase. 

Unique performance unfolded at the center of the installation. The youngest participant placed a glass sphere onto an upward-moving conveyor belt. As the sphere ascended, it eventually reached the top, where it fell off and shattered into pieces. A second participant—an adult man—carefully gathered the shards and handed them to a third, the oldest of the group. He, in turn, presented small bags filled with the broken glass to the fair’s visitors; these could either be purchased or exchanged for time. 33 people traded their own time—in the form of hours—for the shards, while one individual purchased fragments of the installation for 420,000 rubles. The performance was accompanied by a soundscape.

Sales and transactions 

• 72% of the galleries surveyed indicate that paintings are in highest demand. Works on paper (graphics) are the second most popular medium, cited by 48% of the galleries.
• 64% of galleries report that the highest concentration of sales occurred during the preview.
• 40% of galleries identify new collectors as the core of their audience, while 36% point to existing, familiar buyers.

Among the most expensive works sold at the fair were the “DC2520” table by Vincenzo De Cotiis for 12,068,000 rubles and the “DC2615” vase by the same artist for 9,554,000 rubles (KRASSKY Gallery), as well as the painting “The Kiss” by Irina Nakhova for 7,793,000 rubles (pop/off/art).

The highest sale results were achieved by the following works: “Girl in a Dress with a White Collar. Bibinur” by Rasikh Akhmetvaliev — 6,150,000 rubles (Miras Gallery); the painting “Morning. Tigers Might Be Here” by Nikita Makarov — 6,000,000 rubles (K Gallery); the object “Flight (001)” by Igor Samolet — 4,400,000 rubles (сцена/szena); a triptych by Vladimir Salnikov from the “In the Garden” series — 3,300,000 rubles (Shilo Gallery); the work “You: by Natalia Tarantsova — 3,000,000 rubles (A-House); and the canvas “Sport” by Olga Soldatova — 2,650,000 rubles (CHOUTKO gallery).

Other works sold include: “Parisian Secrets” by Elena Kovylina for 2,000,000 rubles (Fineart Gallery); “Geometry” by Maria Safronova for 1,550,000 rubles (InGallery); a painting titled “Venice” by Alexander Vinogradov for 1,400,000 rubles (Triangle gallery); the “Flux” sofa by Dasha Cheva for 1,300,000 rubles (A-House); and “Morning Silence” by Anton Morokov for 900,000 rubles (Tikhaya studio).

The fair also saw a number of sales in the entry-level and mid-range price segments. Yulia Agenosova’s work “HAIR I” was sold for 60,000 rubles (Voice); an object from the “Waiting Room” series by Evgeny Shishkin (edition 2/2) went for 70,000 rubles (Serene Gallery); Alexander Filimonov’s “Mask” sold for 80,000 rubles (SPACE13); a graphic piece by Elena Gryzunova from her “Shadows” series fetched 100,000 rubles (Evgeny Zhudrov Gallery); Taisia ​​Korotkova’s watercolor “Road Sign” sold for 150,000 rubles (Triangle Gallery); Maxim Savva’s work “Sergeant Bruegel’s Lonely Hearts Club” went for 460,000 rubles (JOY GALLERY); Artem Lyapin’s “Paws” sold for 500,000 rubles (Serene Gallery); and Varvara Cheltsova’s piece “The Berber Prince and the Love for Three Oranges” was purchased for 550,000 rubles (SAMPLE). Additionally, the Overcoat gallery completely sold out Konstantin Zvezdochetov’s exhibition “Happy People” (with a market value of 500,000 rubles), including the very coat upon which the collages were displayed.

Best Stand: the rational and the intuitive

The Best Stand award was presented to Syntax Gallery. It brought together four artistic practices: Valery Chtak and Lidia Zhudro explored the philosophy of language, irrationality, and communication barriers, while Dmitry Bulnygin and Slava Nesterov worked with association, intuition, and metaphor. The exhibition invited viewers to consider the rational and the intuitive, the analytical and the imaginative, as equally valid modes of artistic inquiry. As a result, the gallery has earned the right to participate in the 2027 edition of Cosmoscow, without an entry fee.

International section

The fair featured two Indian galleries (ART INCEPT and THRESHOLD ART GALLERY), a special project involving an Iranian gallery ARTSUN (“Persian Art: Dialogue of Generations”), and a project by collectors Ekaterina and Andrey Terebenin (“Dvara: Conceptual Weaving”), which focused on contemporary and traditional Indian art.

Art transactions at a click

The online Cosmoscow fair, hosted on the TEO platform, will feature works from 86 galleries. Pieces can be purchased through September 30 at teodorus.art. TEO allows users to discuss purchase terms, arrange delivery, and discover more works by their favorite artists.