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The Cosmoscow international contemporary art fair concluded its 2026 edition with a top sale of 12,068,000 rubles for a table by Vincenzo De Cotiis, attracting over 60,000 visitors to the Timiryazev Center in Moscow. The three-day event, held from September 4 to 6, showcased works from 107 galleries and featured a range of artistic and commercial projects.
The most expensive piece sold was De Cotiis's table, model DC2520, acquired through Krassky Gallery. Another work by the same artist, vase DC2615, fetched 9,554,000 rubles, also sold by Krassky Gallery. These sales led the fair's commercial success, which included a diverse array of art across various price points.
Among other significant sales, Irina Nakhova's painting Kiss sold for 7,793,000 rubles via pop/off/art gallery. Rasikh Akhmetvaliev's work Girl in a dress with a white collar. Bibinur commanded 6,150,000 rubles from Miras Gallery. Nikita Makarov's painting Morning. Tigers may be here was purchased for 6,000,000 rubles through K Gallery.
Sales in the mid-range, from several hundred thousand to several million rubles, included Igor Samolet's object Flight (001) for 4,400,000 rubles. A triptych from Vladimir Salnikov's series In the Garden sold for 3,300,000 rubles. Natalia Tarantsova's You achieved 3,000,000 rubles, and Olga Soldatova's canvas Sport was acquired for 2,650,000 rubles.
Further sales included Elena Kovylina's Secrets of Paris for 2,000,000 rubles, Maria Safronova's Geometry for 1,550,000 rubles, and Alexander Vinogradov's Venice for 1,400,000 rubles. Dasha Cheva's Flux sold for 1,300,000 rubles, and Anton Morokov's Morning Silence went for 900,000 rubles.
The fair featured 112 gallery stands spread across two floors of the Timiryazev Center. It also hosted 23 partner projects and 11 non-commercial initiatives, including a stand by RBC. Additionally, 14 collaborations between brands and contemporary artists were presented.
A nine-meter installation titled Splash by Igor Samolet, the Cosmoscow Foundation's Artist of the Year, served as a central visual symbol. The work comprised three parts, illustrating the lifecycle of an artistic idea from its inception to its transformation into an artwork and subsequent detachment through sale. A performance accompanying the installation involved a glass ball moving up a conveyor belt before shattering. Participants then collected the fragments, offering them to visitors for purchase or temporary exchange.
This performance resulted in 33 individuals exchanging their watches for shards. One visitor purchased fragments for 420,000 rubles. A survey conducted among participating galleries revealed that painting was the most sought-after medium, cited by 72% of participants. Graphics ranked second, noted by 48% of galleries.
Regarding audience demographics, 40% of galleries identified new collectors as the core of their clientele. Another 36% reported that familiar buyers formed their primary audience.
Syntax Gallery received the "Best Stand" award for its exhibition, which brought together works by Valery Chtak, Lidia Zudro, Dmitry Bulnygin, and Slava Nesterov. The gallery's concept explored rational and intuitive approaches to artistic cognition. As a prize, Syntax Gallery earned the right to participate in Cosmoscow 2027 without an entry fee.
International participation saw two Indian galleries, Art Incept and Threshold Art Gallery, join the fair for the first time. Collectors Ekaterina and Andrey Terebenin presented a special project, Dvara: Weaving the Conceptual, focusing on contemporary and traditional Indian art. Iran was represented by the project Persian Art: Dialogue of Generations, featuring Artsan Gallery.
Sber served as the general partner, supporting the event through its GigaChat neural networks and Sber Private Banking. Other companies backing the fair included Voyah, Hutton, MR, ēdomo, Lamoda, Beluga, 12 Storeez, Azbuka Vkusa, Geltek, Mistral, Chupa Chups, Montazhnik, edis, watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin, and Moscow Medicine. The children's program was partnered by the Kenguru store chain, with The Carlton, Moscow as the official hotel and SberStrakhovanie as the insurance partner.
", "gist": "The Cosmoscow contemporary art fair in Moscow concluded its 2026 edition, drawing over 60,000 visitors and achieving a top sale of 12,068,000 rubles for a Vincenzo De Cotiis table. The event featured 107 galleries and saw painting emerge as the most sought-after medium among collectors." }
