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Moscow World Fine Art Fair 2005
The success of last year's inaugural Moscow World Fine Art Fair has ensured an even more ambitious fair for its return in 2005. The fair will be held Sept. 20-26 at the newly restored Manege, one of Moscow's most famous landmarks in the heart of the city - steps away from the Kremlin. This year, the fair will have more than three times as many dealers and 10 times more exhibition space as last year. If French dealers dominated last year's fair, this year there is heavy representation from London and New York. All of them, though, are regulars at elite fine art fairs, such as the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht and the Paris Biennale des Antiquaires. More than 82 dealers - covering a wide range of specialties including classic furniture and works of art spanning the 16th through 19th centuries - have been specially selected by a committee of Russian and international experts. More than 60 dealers of fine art will showcase their items on the ground floor of the magnificent 19th-century Manege, with more than 20 jewelers, including Chopard and Cartier, exhibiting on the lower level. Among those taking part are Marlborough Fine Art Ltd. of London. This specialist in German Expressionism brought "Studies From the Human Body" by Francis Bacon to Moscow last year. Another fair returnee is Maurice Segoura of Paris, a specialist in 18th-century furniture. With the Manege soaring some 10 meters (33 feet) to its wooden beams and an exhibition area of 3,300 square meters (35,500 square feet) on each floor, the fair will occupy a stunning space. The organizers hired Patrick Hourcade, who has worked many times with the fashion icon Karl Lagerfield, to create the mise-en-scene. Last year's fair was, in many ways, experimental. Because of customs regulations, the fair was created for exhibit purposes only and would-be buyers - and there were many - had to buy directly from the gallery at a later date. This year, organizers are negotiating to have a Russian customs officer on site so that items can be purchased immediately at the fair with a minimum of difficulty. Some 25,000 people visited the fair over five days in 2004, a mixture of a curious public and prospective buyers. At least double that number is expected this year. "After the fair, they knew the galleries but didn't want to go alone into a gallery and be hassled," she explains. The fair had been moved to September for one year, as the Manege was busy in May when world leaders converged on Moscow for commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. From 2006 on, the fair will take place in May.
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Attention, please! Any reproduction of the materials (photos, texts) without permission of Gelos Auction House, Ltd is forbidden.
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At this year edition of the Moscow World Fine Art Fair Gelos will take part as a representative of the Russian antiques market together with a few other high end galleries from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Gelos is going to present an exciting selection of masterpieces covering the broad range of art and antiques including paintings, furniture, decorative arts, jewellery, antique books, coins and medals.