The exhibition is divided into two parts, each reflecting a different angle on the institution’s history. The first part presented Triumph-the-gallery whose core mission has been to support and grow individual artists. Over the years, their number has grown steadily. The second part of the exhibition approaches Triumph as an organization driven by curatorial and research activities. Since the mid-2010s, Triumph has been deliberately building a programme that expands beyond solo and group shows. In 2013, Research Arts was founded, an interdisciplinary initiative, working at the intersection of social sciences and contemporary art. The initiative produced major thematic exhibitions, each becoming a fully-fledged cultural event.

Installation view

The exhibition is divided into two parts, each reflecting a different angle on the institution’s history. The first part presented Triumph-the-gallery whose core mission has been to support and grow individual artists. Over the years, their number has grown steadily. The second part of the exhibition approaches Triumph as an organization driven by curatorial and research activities. Since the mid-2010s, Triumph has been deliberately building a programme that expands beyond solo and group shows. In 2013, Research Arts was founded, an interdisciplinary initiative, working at the intersection of social sciences and contemporary art. The initiative produced major thematic exhibitions, each becoming a fully-fledged cultural event.

The project began with artistic exploration of regional identities and a focus on the subject of space. The current exhibition features a gallery-scale fragment of At the Fringes, originally presented at the Optiks Pavilion at VDNKh in 2018 and featuring works by Maria Gruzdeva and Natasha Timofeeva. The artists delved into the life in Russia’s peripheral and borderland territories, contrasting a multiplicity of “marginal” perspectives to the prevailing “Moscow optic.” Spatial questions were also addressed in the first large-scale group exhibition bringing together Russian and international artists, Our Land / Alien Territory, staged at the Manege in Moscow in 2015. It focused on the phenomenon of disputed lands and border zones. The project’s geography spanned dozens of the world’s fault lines, from Vietnam and Israel to Transnistria and the Balkans.

Taisia Korotkova
From the Dark Forest (2) series
2018
Black marker on the reverse side of a glued tablecloth
280 × 650 cm

The project began with artistic exploration of regional identities and a focus on the subject of space. The current exhibition features a gallery-scale fragment of At the Fringes, originally presented at the Optiks Pavilion at VDNKh in 2018 and featuring works by Maria Gruzdeva and Natasha Timofeeva. The artists delved into the life in Russia’s peripheral and borderland territories, contrasting a multiplicity of “marginal” perspectives to the prevailing “Moscow optic.” Spatial questions were also addressed in the first large-scale group exhibition bringing together Russian and international artists, Our Land / Alien Territory, staged at the Manege in Moscow in 2015. It focused on the phenomenon of disputed lands and border zones. The project’s geography spanned dozens of the world’s fault lines, from Vietnam and Israel to Transnistria and the Balkans.

Across a succession of projects, the spatial focus gave way to reflections on temporality, a shift that coincided with the pivotal year 2020. An excerpt from 15-Minute Break, featuring works by Lyudmila Baronina, Vladislav Kruchinsky, Ulyana Podkorytova, and Rostan Tavasiev, forms a distinct and important section of the current exhibition, referring back to the project’s first presentation at the Russian National Decorative Art Museum. The exhibition itself consisted of two series: the first was devoted to labour, while the second focused on the ongoing transformation of leisure. Its title evokes both the regular short breaks that are used to recharge and disruptions in rhythmic work that are unexpected — a perspective that became especially resonant during the pandemic, which altered perceptions of time and reshaped both labour and recreation. The theme of time found further expression in the project Future Lab: Kinetic Art in Russia, first showed at the St. Petersburg Manege and later at the Tretyakov Gallery. Vladimir Martirosov’s kinetic works draw upon the ideas of movement, mutability, and interaction with the viewer.

Vladimir Martirosov
Fan Series
2017
Bamboo, tracing paper, electric motor, wood, stainless steel, lead
Dimensions variable

Across a succession of projects, the spatial focus gave way to reflections on temporality, a shift that coincided with the pivotal year 2020. An excerpt from 15-Minute Break, featuring works by Lyudmila Baronina, Vladislav Kruchinsky, Ulyana Podkorytova, and Rostan Tavasiev, forms a distinct and important section of the current exhibition, referring back to the project’s first presentation at the Russian National Decorative Art Museum. The exhibition itself consisted of two series: the first was devoted to labour, while the second focused on the ongoing transformation of leisure. Its title evokes both the regular short breaks that are used to recharge and disruptions in rhythmic work that are unexpected — a perspective that became especially resonant during the pandemic, which altered perceptions of time and reshaped both labour and recreation. The theme of time found further expression in the project Future Lab: Kinetic Art in Russia, first showed at the St. Petersburg Manege and later at the Tretyakov Gallery. Vladimir Martirosov’s kinetic works draw upon the ideas of movement, mutability, and interaction with the viewer.

Since 2016, the gallery has pursued a long-term parallel exhibition cycle, the Extension series, which has systematically introduced Russian audiences to the art scenes of different countries. Each iteration offers a deep-dive into a local context, which can never truly be reduced to a formulaic overview. The project was preceded by a series of solo exhibitions featuring international artists, including Dean Graham and Rikuji Makabe. The cycle was inspired by the exhibition of Russian and German artists TRANSMISSION: Leipzig—Moscow. By 2020, the series had covered the art scenes of 12 countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland, and Estonia. The current exhibition includes works by Gyungsu An, Min Jung-Yeon, Lee Jinju, Grigor Khachatryan, Miķelis Fišers, and others. Among the more recent projects exploring the local sociocultural and artistic specificities is Reversed Safari, an exhibition of contemporary art from African countries presented in St. Petersburg and Kazan.

Installation view

Since 2016, the gallery has pursued a long-term parallel exhibition cycle, the Extension series, which has systematically introduced Russian audiences to the art scenes of different countries. Each iteration offers a deep-dive into a local context, which can never truly be reduced to a formulaic overview. The project was preceded by a series of solo exhibitions featuring international artists, including Dean Graham and Rikuji Makabe. The cycle was inspired by the exhibition of Russian and German artists TRANSMISSION: Leipzig—Moscow. By 2020, the series had covered the art scenes of 12 countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland, and Estonia. The current exhibition includes works by Gyungsu An, Min Jung-Yeon, Lee Jinju, Grigor Khachatryan, Miķelis Fišers, and others. Among the more recent projects exploring the local sociocultural and artistic specificities is Reversed Safari, an exhibition of contemporary art from African countries presented in St. Petersburg and Kazan.

Since 2023, this logic of a global perspective to examine the local has continued in the Systemic Assembly series, dedicated to the art scenes of Russian cities — Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod — where independent art ecosystems have come to the fore in recent years. The series is intended to facilitate dialogue between regional art scenes: after opening at Triumph, the exhibition then travels to other Russian cities. The pop-up exhibition Systemic Assembly. Ufa: Seven Winds in collaboration with the Miras Gallery presents the art scene of the city of Ufa.

A distinct and increasingly significant vector of the gallery’s activity is related to ecological consciousness. From Living Matter at the Tretyakov Gallery to the first International Biennale of Ecological Art in Nizhny Novgorod, Triumph has repeatedly turned to artists who work with themes of nature, sustainability, and responsibility toward the biosphere — long before these subjects became part of the curatorial mainstream. Selected works by Russian artists Slava Nesterov and Sasha Nestyorkina, and by international artists including Yangkura, Zahra Ahmed Al Ghamdi, Elsa Guillaume, and others, offer an opportunity to look once again at how space and time converge.

Yangkura
Trash Monsters
2024
Marine debris collected on the islands of Tsushima and Jeju
450 × 250 × 250 cm

Since 2023, this logic of a global perspective to examine the local has continued in the Systemic Assembly series, dedicated to the art scenes of Russian cities — Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod — where independent art ecosystems have come to the fore in recent years. The series is intended to facilitate dialogue between regional art scenes: after opening at Triumph, the exhibition then travels to other Russian cities. The pop-up exhibition Systemic Assembly. Ufa: Seven Winds in collaboration with the Miras Gallery presents the art scene of the city of Ufa.

A distinct and increasingly significant vector of the gallery’s activity is related to ecological consciousness. From Living Matter at the Tretyakov Gallery to the first International Biennale of Ecological Art in Nizhny Novgorod, Triumph has repeatedly turned to artists who work with themes of nature, sustainability, and responsibility toward the biosphere — long before these subjects became part of the curatorial mainstream. Selected works by Russian artists Slava Nesterov and Sasha Nestyorkina, and by international artists including Yangkura, Zahra Ahmed Al Ghamdi, Elsa Guillaume, and others, offer an opportunity to look once again at how space and time converge.

At the same time, the gallery has actively engaged in the transformation of street art and its incorporation into an institutional context. The artists Maksim Ima and Kirill Ashastin, both participants in several street art projects, present new paintings and graphic works.

The two parts of the exhibition are connected by archival materials, as well as photographic and video documentation of exhibitions from 2006 to the present, reflecting the diversity of the gallery’s endeavours. A separate section devoted to the gallery’s early years introduces works from its first projects, while the timeline reveals how Triumph responded to the challenges, questions, and events in contemporary society and its environment: the experience of the pandemic, apocalyptic narratives, and conspiracy-minded thinking. This precise ability to step up to the urgency of the moment without sacrificing the research rigour has become one of Triumph’s defining qualities.

Installation view. Mural by Maksim Ima

At the same time, the gallery has actively engaged in the transformation of street art and its incorporation into an institutional context. The artists Maksim Ima and Kirill Ashastin, both participants in several street art projects, present new paintings and graphic works.

The two parts of the exhibition are connected by archival materials, as well as photographic and video documentation of exhibitions from 2006 to the present, reflecting the diversity of the gallery’s endeavours. A separate section devoted to the gallery’s early years introduces works from its first projects, while the timeline reveals how Triumph responded to the challenges, questions, and events in contemporary society and its environment: the experience of the pandemic, apocalyptic narratives, and conspiracy-minded thinking. This precise ability to step up to the urgency of the moment without sacrificing the research rigour has become one of Triumph’s defining qualities.

Artists:
AES+F, Joseph Awuah-Darko, Charlie Isoe, Zahrah Al-Ghamdi, Gyeongsu An, Kirill Ashastin, Lyudmila Baronina, Anatoly Belkin, Yosman Botero, Khaniso Bui, Artur Golyakov, Maria Gruzdeva, Dean Graham, Jang Yeong-min, Katya Emelyanova, Maksim Ima, Kim Soonim, Taisiya Korotkova, Vladislav Kruchinsky, Namsa Leuba, Armin Linke, Si Lo, Rikuji Makabe, Vladimir Martirosov, Slava Nesterov, Sasha Nesterkina, Nuriya Nurgalieva, Alexander Obrazumov, Michelle Okpare, Danya Pirogov, Ulyana Podkorytova, Zukhra Salakhova, Rostan Tavasiev, Natasha Timofeeva, Médéric Turay, Dima Filippov, Miķelis Fišers, Grigor Khachatryan, Yosman Botero Gómez, Damien Hirst, Tatiana Hengstler, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Lee Jinju, Yun Kyung Jeong, Brice Esso, Yangkura,

Artists of the exhibition Systemic Assembly. Ufa: Seven Winds:
Nelly Akchurina, Madina Amineva, Azat Basyrov, Ruslan Nigmatullin, Olga Tsymbolenko, Department of Psychophysics (Azat Galiev, Valery Karimov, Alexander Sobolev)

Curator: Kristina Romanova
Assistant Curator: Artur Knyazev