MOSCOW WORLD FINE ART FAIR 
By Alejandro Saralegui

Disavow any preconceived notions you may have about Moscow. A recent visit to the Moscow World Fine Art Fair brought to light the enormous social changes in the capital of the former Soviet Union and the artistic history of the nation. Forget the gold chains and Versace image of the flashy Russian and instead think stylish global citizens with the world at their fingertips. The fifth annual fair provided a glimpse into the upper reaches of Moscow society and their collecting habits.

Located adjacent to the Kremlin and Red Square in the Manège, an exposition hall built in 1817 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Russian troops over Napoleon’S WORD, the fair was divided in two sections. The vast three-story building with tall arched windows along the walls accommodated the displaying dealers on its column-free main floor. Leading jewelers such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston, Bulgari, and Chatila occupied the lower level offering a treasure trove of baubles for the new power elite. The art and antiques on view were clearly more than temptations to the throngs of attending patrons as the red dots that signify sold pieces were noticeably placed on item after item throughout the spectacular opening night.
”Palace size” is an apt descriptor for the jaw-dropping antiques displayed at Galerie Michel-Guy Chadelaud, a Parisian dealer. A pair of immense 19th century, Murano glass 20-light chandeliers was almost upstaged by a gigantic Modigliani head of a Caryatid or a set of four busts of Roman emperors. The Modigliani of patinated gilt bronze measuring well over six feet brings to mind a peaceful western version of Buddha. Porphyry, a rare purple-ish red stone was utilized to sculpt late eighteenth and early nineteenth century busts of Vespasian, Claudius, Nero and Titus for the Counts Stroganoff.

Smaller local art fairs offer an insight into their markets and the MWFAF was no exception. There was little in the way of Malevich-inspired modernism but instead a rather interesting hybrid of Soviet realism and French 19th and early 20th century painting. The Kournikova Gallery, founded in 1995 and specializing in émigré masters working in Europe showed Three Male Torsos by Aristarkh Lentulov, an important avant garde artist in Moscow at the beginning of the twentieth century. The piece blends Cubism with Lentulov's much admired use of bright color.

Another painting from the turn-of-the-last-century was shown at Galerie Shokola (l'Ecole) amid works by Impressionist, Post Impressionist and modern masters. The 1907 work by Peter Konchalosky reads solid green from a distance but closer in one can make out trees and a running stream in blocks of subtly different hues of green and blue. "The piece explores a Russian perspective on the art we normally exhibit," says gallery owner Luba Mosiozhink. Among the works by Cezanne, Miro and Degas were a series of patinated bronze tabletop sculptures by Jedd Novatt, a friend of Mosionzhink's whose work resembles a three-dimensional Franz Kline painting.

B. & B. Steinitz showed an eclectic mix of antique treasures selected with their Russian clients in mind. The walls of the booth were lined with Louis XV pale oak boiserie highlighted with extremely delicate tendrils climbing the moldings and the transoms framed Asian inspired paintings. The subtly rich room featured pieces ready for a Czarist lifestyle including a malachite – the stone of the moment – topped side table and a pair of Ionic column candelabra in chased and gilded bronze about the height of a small child!

Whether you're collecting or just going along for the ride these international art and antique fairs that afford an entree into a rarefied world giving visitors an unforgettable experience.

More world art fairs, coming up:

 Salzburg World Fine Art Fair 
 The Residenz, Salzburg Austria
 August 9 to 17, 2008
 salzburg-faf.com

 XXIV Biennale des Antiquaire 
 Le Grand Palais, Paris   September 11 to 21, 2008
 bdafrance.eu

 Shanghai Fine Jewelry and Art Fair    Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, People's Republic of Chi
October 12 to 19, 2008
 sfjaf.com

 The International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show
 Park Armory, New York, New York
 October 17 to 23, 2008
 haughton.com

 Art Basel/Miami Breach
 Art Deco District, Miami Beach, Florida
 December 4 to 7, 2008
 artbaselmiamibeach.com

 Winter Antiques Show
 Park Avenue Armory, New York, New York
 January 23 to February 1, 2009
 winterantiquesshow.com

 Antiques and Fine Art Fair of Belgium
 Tour & Taxis, Brussels, Belgium
 January 23 to February 1, 2009
 brafa.be

 Palm Beach - America's International Fine Art & Antique Fair
 Palm Beach County Convention Center, West Palm Beach, Florida
 January 30 to February 8, 2009
 palmbeachfair.com

 Art Antiques Design Dubai
The Madinat Arena, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
February 19 to 22, 2009
haughton.com

 Maastrict
 Maastrict Exhibition & Congress Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
 March 13 t0 22, 2009
 tefaf.com