Between the utopias

The so-called 'New Russian Art' - the art of the last five years or so - has represented a retreat from the Conceptualist paradigm that prevailed in the 1980s. While the Moscow Conceptualists sought to empty objects and signs of their meanings, the new movement in Moscow has seen a return to a more tangible art, towards an authentic and morally responsible idiom, and towards an associative richness of meaning. Representative of this direction are Aidan Salakhova's aggressive and erotic artforms which simulate the body as art in a manner comparable to Cindy Sherman and Jeff Koons, the explorations of beauty by the AES group, and Valery Koshlyakov's evocative depictions of a decayed Stalinist empire. The author also considers new developments in St Petersburg, including new forms of 'topical art' and the strong emphasis on neo-classicism, and explores recent artistic developments in the Ukraine - where current artforms have been influenced by Italian Transavantgardism and cultural nomadism.