Marat Gelman is a rather scandalous personality of the Russian art market. Each exhibition of this famous gallery owner is a clearly thought-out challenge to society and the state. Pictures at his exhibitions constantly cause a stir. Many criticize Gelman, believing that his activities are contrary to the canons of morality. He himself does not think so, calling himself a free man, and continues his activities already in Montenegro. Marat Gelman is also an active opposition critic of the government.
This article will tell about his activities as a gallery owner, biography and family.
Biography
Marat Alexandrovich Gelman was born on December 24, 1960 in the capital of Moldova. His father is the author of dramatic works and screenwriter Alexander Gelman. In 1977, he graduated from school in Chisinau, in 1983 received a diploma from the Institute of Communications (Moscow), becoming a certified engineer. In the same period he worked as a machinist and theater worker in many famous Moscow theaters. As soon as the punishment for parasitism was abolished, he left work to write books and engage in creative projects, to open his own business. Until 1986, he worked as an engineer in one of the institutions in Chisinau.
First exhibitions
In 1987, Gelman, who in his youth became interested in art, to a greater extent contemporary, ventured to create the first gallery exhibition, demonstrating metropolitan artists in Chisinau. The exhibition was quite successful, including financially. Arriving in Moscow (to give the artists the proceeds from the realization of their work the sums of money), Gelman Marat decided to stay in the Russian capital because he realized that there are more prospects for the development of galleries.
He began his professional life in art as a collector. However, while still inexperienced, he collected a rather unsuccessful first collection of works. He had to acquire knowledge on the sale of works of art. The biography of Marat Gelman is significant in that he actually became the first art dealer in the Soviet Union.
In 1990, having received a foreign education in the field of contemporary art, begin to collect a collection of works by Ukrainian professional artists, which was the basis of the exhibition "South Russian Wave". The exhibition was held in 1992 and had a great resonance among the creative bohemians of the capital. Marat himself describes his path in art as a chain of random events, but this, according to the famous gallery owner, is, in fact, a more important guarantee of success than hard work.
Relocation to Montenegro
In 2014 he changed his permanent place of residence. Gelman left for Montenegro to carry out cultural projects. Gallery of Marat Gelman in Montenegro has already become world famous. Since 2015, there has been a residence of art "Duckley European Art Community" (abbreviation DEAC), which was created by three gallery owners: Neil Emilfarb, Petar Chukovich and Marat Gelman.
At first, the residence worked exclusively by invitation. For this period, anyone who wants can apply. Following the results of the artists' activities, the gallery constantly hosts various events that gradually changed the cultural status of the whole of Montenegro. Here Marat Gelman develops his ideas of postmodern society and continues to act as a political oppositionist.
Own art gallery
In 1990, on the advice of many experts from art, Gelman opened one of the very first private galleries in Russia in the post-modern style.
It operated in 2012, and over twenty years changed several names (“Gallery M. and Yu. Gelman”) and several addresses (1991-1995 - Center for Contemporary Art on Yakimanka; 1995-2007 - Polyanka Street, 7; 2007-2012 - Center for Contemporary Art, Winery). However, all this time was known exclusively as the Gelman Gallery.
What was exhibited at this site?
The history of the gallery of modern art is almost the history of the work of artists of independent Russia. In different periods, almost all famous artists of the nineties and two thousandths collaborated with her - from the classics of the capital's conceptualism, social art and postmodernism to the artists of the St. Petersburg new wave, Moscow actionism, the southern Russian wave and representatives of media art. Also exhibited were the works of painters and photographers, architects and those artists who work with installations and new technologies.
The photo shows a work of modern art in the style of conceptualism (the trend is postmodernism).
Ukrainian art
In addition to Russian artists, Gelman exhibited works by Ukrainian masters in the gallery - from this he began his career as an organizer and gallery owner (exhibition "South Russian Wave", 1992). Ukrainian creativity has always occupied and still occupies a worthy place in its exhibition halls. In 2002-2004, in the capital of Ukraine, a branch of the Gelman Gallery operated under the supervision of his friend and artist Alexander Roitburd.
International success
In addition, in the early nineties Gelman actively promoted Russian art on the international market. On the one hand, he makes business contacts with leading galleries in New York so that the world art community gets acquainted with the works of various artists of the gallery of Marat Aleksandrovich Gelman; on the other hand, it seeks to demonstrate international celebrity in the Russian Federation - in particular, such important events for Moscow of those years as the personal exhibitions of the most famous artist of the twentieth century - Andy Warhol (Alter Ego, 1994) and Joseph Boyce (in the Yakimanka gallery) were held The Diary of Leonardo, 1994).
Nonprofit Exhibitions
Another major area of the Gelman Gallery was the organization of large non-profit exhibitions at external venues in the metropolitan area. Among the most famous are “Conversion” (House of Artists, 1993), “7th Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR” (Central House of Artists, 1993), “Wild Money” (Tretyakov Gallery, 2005), “Couples of Changeable Composition” (Manege, 1999), “South Russian Wave”, “Nostalgia” (State Russian Museum, 2000, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Marat Gelman Gallery), “Russia” (Central House of Artists, 2005), “Contemporary Art of St. Petersburg” (Central House of Artists, 2005) and several others. These exhibition events were very popular and attracted the attention of citizens.
From the first days of its work, the gallery took part in international exhibition events, festivals and fairs, including in the two thousandth ones, in such famous international festivals as FIAK (Paris) and ARCO (Madrid). In 1999, Gelman presented the project for the Russian venue at the Biennale in the city of Venice, Italy.
Gallery close
In the spring of 2012, Marat Gelman, along with other major Russian gallery owners, announced the reformation of gallery activities. In the case of the Gelman site, this ended with its closure. Gelman called the main reason for this decision a contraction in the contemporary art market in Russia, which was associated with the unstable political and financial situation in the state. The last event at the legendary Gelman exhibition venue was the presentation of the artist Alexei Kallima “Consider yourself lucky” (summer 2012).
Gelman - political strategist
Gelman is also known as a political strategist. He is one of the authors of the Effective Policy Fund project. This Russian non-profit institution is engaged in the implementation of political actions and the creation of media projects, mainly the development of political Internet sites. The fund conducted its first major campaigning campaigns for the Union of Right Forces party. Sources of funding for the fund are not known so far.
In the late nineties, during a period of various elections, the fund organized the publication of exit polls data on its websites (polling people at the exit from polling stations), which informally violated Russian legislation, but was formally legal due to the lack of legal regulation of the Internet in the country.
Gelman was a member of the Public Chamber 2009-2012, where he actively promoted his initiatives. At the moment, he is an ardent oppositionist who often criticizes the current government. He believes that the Russian government uses totalitarian and anti-democratic methods and deprives citizens of their freedom, including freedom of speech.
Gelman's work in Perm
In 2008, under the patronage of Sergey Gordeev, who represented the Perm Territory in the Federation Council, Marat Gelman held in Perm the exhibition "Poor Russia", which was a landmark for him, as a gallery owner, where the works of the most important Russian artists of modern Russia were shown - as very famous, both young and unknown. The exhibition took place in the premises of the River Station - at that time the room was not in use and was minimally restored for exposure at the expense of Gordeev.
For thirty days, fifty thousand people visited it, after which, at the request of the inhabitants of the city, it was extended for another month. The exhibition “Poor Russia” (and its success both in Perm and in Russia) marked the beginning of the large cultural campaign “Perm - the cultural capital”, within the framework of which the Perm Museum was opened in the same building, which has been completely renovated and equipped with equipment contemporary art.
Marat Gelman headed the museum for several years. Already in 2009, Gelman's work was criticized by part of various Perm artists.
A well-known author and art critic by profession, Andrei Ivanov, spoke out about the fact that the museum eats up a huge amount of money, almost all of the budget for Perm culture, that the museum is allocated ninety million rubles from the regional budget, and the Perm Art Gallery received only thirty million rubles. In his opinion, metropolitan artists deliberately indicated the overpriced cost of their projects and the services provided. Actively protesting against the award of Marat Gelman with the Stroganov Prize, A. Ivanov said that he was refusing this award, which he had been awarded three years earlier.
Conflict with church and officials
Exhibitions of the Museum of Modern Art provoked disapproval of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Gelman’s exposition was opposed by representatives of the Stavropol branch of the church, in particular, the bishop himself, who in a special statement said that Gelman’s art was not related to real culture and was aimed at inciting interreligious and interethnic contradictions. In 2012, Marat Gelman was unable to hold an exhibition in Novosibirsk - the local culture department refused to provide a site for the exhibition.
In the summer of 2013, after a series of scandals, Marat Gelman was fired from his post as head of the Perm Museum. The legal commentary on the decision to dismiss indicated that the employer should not indicate the reason for this decision to dismiss.
Gallery owner Gelman called censorship of art in the country by officials as the main reason for his dismissal. The reason for the dismissal of Marat Gelman from the post of head of the institution, according to journalists, was the personal exhibition of the artist Vasily Slonov from Krasnodar “Velcom Sochi 2014”, which opened as part of the White Nights event and which was considered provocative.
