"Nest" by Zhao Bandi Automatic translate

The Moscow Museum of Modern Art, together with the Center for Contemporary Art No. 9, presents two exhibition projects - “No. 1 - Monolith” and “Nest” by Zhao Bandi. The exhibitions will be the debut events for the new No. 9 Center for Contemporary Art, whose main goal is to present Russian and Chinese artists and international cooperation with leading museums and galleries of contemporary art in China.

The exhibition “No 1 - Monolith” presents works by nine Russian artists working in various media of contemporary art. The works are united by the common idea of ​​finding an ideal for everyone, the significance of certain events in a person’s life and how they can influence their future path. The project presents works by famous artists such as Andrey Volkov, who works with non-objective painting and explores the boundaries of materials and textures, and young authors experimenting with the synthesis of painting, sculpture, and video art.

In the “Nest” project, the famous Chinese artist Zhao Bandi will present an installation that will allow every viewer to come and talk with the author about life, art, share joys and sorrows, and speculate about the past and future. The bamboo hut in which the artist’s painting is located reminds us of quarantine during the coronavirus, when everyone was locked in their own thoughts alone, and a medical mask in the form of a hammock, which is a reminder of the safety attribute at that difficult time, now serves as a place of peace where you can lie down and forget about the everyday hustle and bustle. From the first step into the soft foliage that litters the floor around the installation, the viewer is immersed in the world created by Zhao Bandi. In the second hall of the exhibition there are monitors that show the entire path taken by the installation “Nest” in different cities and countries. Zhao Bandi (赵半狄, b. 1966) is an artist, photographer, author of installations, he is considered one of the funniest contemporary authors in China. Zhao graduated from the oil painting department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and began working in the late 1980s, when the Communist Party had already allowed it, and the Chinese public saw Rauschenberg’s expressive abstractions and even body art. In 1999 – 2004 Zhao Bandi’s panda-related works have been displayed in subways, airports and on the streets of many cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Milan, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Oslo, Tokyo and other cities.

Two exhibitions were prepared as part of the Cross Year of Culture between Russia and China, demonstrating that art is an international language that unites peoples and cultures and opens up new horizons for interaction. The opening of the exhibitions “No. 1 - Monolith” and “Nest” by Zhao Bandi will be the first event of the joint exhibition program of MMOMA and the Center for Contemporary Art No. 9.  

Center for Contemporary Art No. 9

Center for Contemporary Art No. 9 opened in 2023 on Tverskoy Boulevard, in the former studio of artist Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli, president of the Russian Academy of Arts, founder and director of MMOMA. The main mission of CCA No. 9 is to support, develop and promote professional artists working in various contemporary art practices.