The ART MOSCOW 2026 art fair has opened at Gostiny Dvor

The 23rd ART MOSCOW art fair will take place from April 22 to 26 at the historic Gostiny Dvor exhibition complex. In 2026, the fair celebrates its 30th anniversary: ART MOSCOW first opened in 1996, becoming Russia’s first contemporary art fair. In this юбилейный year, the exhibition promises to be the largest in the fair’s history.

ART MOSCOW is a platform for high art, encompassing all directions and key milestones in the evolution of visual culture.

Across a total exhibition area of 12,000 square meters, participants will present a wide range of outstanding works. ART MOSCOW 2026 will bring together six sections: Contemporary Art; Classical Art; Jewelry Art; 20th Century: Heritage; Editioned Art; and Design. The strategic partner of the anniversary fair is the Monavi Presidency.

“Over the past 30 years, the Russian contemporary art market has taken on clearer contours. Its leaders and periphery have been defined, and the characteristics of a mature market have emerged—both in terms of its institutional structure and its functioning. There is still a long way to go before perfection, but positive changes are evident. Thirty years ago, ART MOSCOW was the only fair in our art market. Today, ART MOSCOW is the leading fair in the country in terms of scope and the volume of content presented,” said Vasily Bychkov, founder of ART MOSCOW and CEO of EXPO-PARK Exhibition Projects.

Theme of 2026: Multilayeredness

In contemporary culture, where images endlessly quote one another and authorship dissolves into networks of references and homages, semantic multilayeredness risks degenerating into superficial accumulation. Yet if we recall the idea of a palimpsest—a text written over an erased predecessor—a layer becomes a trace of history that requires attention and interpretation.

ART MOSCOW 2026 proposes to view multilayeredness as a path from simplification to depth: here, an artwork reveals itself gradually, layer by layer, demanding time, knowledge, and thoughtful observation. We invite viewers, artists, and curators to move together in this direction—from fragmentation to integrity, from surface to depth.

CONTEMPORARY ART

This year, ART MOSCOW will serve not only as a platform for discovering new names but also as a meeting place for old friends. Three decades later, the pioneers of ART MOSCOW will once again take part in the exhibition. The juxtaposition of legends of the 1990s and 2000s art scene with young galleries will demonstrate not only the trajectory of Russian contemporary art but also its originality: continuity of styles, abundance of homages and self-references—all fully aligned with the theme of the year.

Inna Khegay Gallery presents the project “ELEMENTS” by Dashi Namdakov—a sculptor and artist from Transbaikalia and one of the most internationally recognized Russian artists. His work embodies the energy of the fundamental elements: “Earth, water, air… Love for the elements cannot be taught. They must be felt, and strength must be drawn from them,” says Dashi.

For the first time, new ceramic works will be presented, symbolizing Earth in collaboration with the spirit of Fire, alongside graphic works from his “Ink” series, reflecting the artist’s long-standing interest in Chinese cultural traditions. The exhibition space is shaped by iconic sculptures from different periods of the artist’s career.