Kandinsky prize winner Russian artist Alexey Beliavev-Guintovt prices boosted by continuing controversy
Posted by artradar on January 30, 2009
Beliayev-Guintovt Star
RUSSIAN ART PRIZE
The Art Newspaper reports that Kandinsky Prize prize winner Alexey Beliavev-Guintovt continues to cause controversy and threatens a split amongst the supporters of the Russian contemporary art scene.
“These (art) unprecedented divisions in a community which hitherto has been more-or-less united to promote contemporary art in and outside Russia,” said Matthew Bown, a Russian art dealer based in London.
Artist accused of being fascist, jury member disavows vote
The debacle began on the night of the award ceremony when 2007 winner Anatoli Osmolovsky
stood up and lambasted Beliayev-Guintovt when he was announced the winner. In the days and weeks that followed, prominent dealers, critics and curators readily gave interviews accusing the artist of being a “fascist” and “ultra-nationalist” for his views, and his art style that harks back to Stalinist-era aesthetics.
Friedhelm Hutte, a jury member and representative of Deutsche Bank, the prize’s co-sponsor, retracted his vote for Beliayev-Guintovt in an interview with the German website, Taz.de.
Beliayev-Guintovt prices boosted by controversy
Whatever the state of the argument, and despite the economic downturn, the Kandinsky Prize and all the surrounding controversy have done the winner no harm at all. Triumph Gallery reports that prices of Beliayev-Guintovt’s works are up by 30%.
Source: The Art Newspaper
Related categories: Russian art, prizes, reports from Russia
Relatd posts:
- Kandinsky prize won by Beliayev-Guintovt Dec 2008 includes links to video of menacing ceremony and coverage by Reuters and Bloomberg
- Dasha Zhukova’s Garage Center temporary, New York Times wrong Nov 2008
- Russian new media artists at MOMA Moscow where interest in electronic art grows Sep 2008
- Art prizes adding auctions and a charitable twist Aug 2008
Art Radar Asia 
Leave a Reply