Sam Taylor-Wood by Sam Taylor-Wood and 21, a group show by contemporary Russian artists, on the display in the PinchukArtCentre

[see photos] On 17 January the PinchukArtCentre welcomed the public with its new exhibitions: a solo exhibition by a British artist Sam Taylor-Wood and a group exhibition of the contemporary Russian artists, 21 RUSSIA. A day before, at the vernissage in the PinchukArtCentre Sam Taylor-Wood, Keita Sugiura and over a dozen of Russian artists presented their works to the invited critics and connoisseurs of art.

Sam Taylor-Wood (a renowned British artist whose works were previously shown at the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale and also as part of "An Instinctive Eye: selection of the contemporary photographs from the collection of Sir Elton John" and "Reflection" exhibitions) showcases 28 of her creations: 13 photos and 5 video-works, including a video installation "Sigh" based on an orchestra performance, photographic self-portraits from the "Bram Stoker's Chair III", "Self Portrait Suspended" and also from the new "Escape Artist" series. In a unique grouping of her video art works – shown at the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale – Kyiv exhibition also highlights "That White Rush," "The Last Century," and "The Servant." The world premier video art work, "3 Minute Round," brings together the Klitschko brothers in a rare artistic film.

Commenting her "Sigh" video-installation – eight LCD screens image projection of the BBC orchestra playing imaginary musical instruments – Sam Taylor-Wood said: "It was hard to make the musician play convincingly without music instruments. Initially they were gob smacked by the idea and only at the critical moment of filming they managed to really concentrate and employ their physical memory."

The "21 RUSSIA" – a product of a year-long effort by the artists and curator - presents the works of 21 Russian artists. A peculiarity that sets this exhibition apart is an explicit curator's vision: to present Russia's contemporary art scene as a complex knot of collisions – trends, generations, media and themes. "We deliberately selected the works of not only Moscow-based artists, but also the artists from all over Russia. We didn't want to show something that is still taking shape; on the contrary, we selected the works that can be referred to as the "cream" of the Russian contemporary art, the works of a so-called "star nucleus". "21" is a museum collection – said Oleksandr Solovyov. – Alongside such artist as Vladimir Dubosarsky and Alexandr Vinogradov (Inspiration, «Beatles» in Moscow), the AES+F (Last Riot 2) and Blue Noses (Small men, Kissing policemen ) we present the works by the artist of a totally different generation - David Ter-Oganyan and Alexandra Galkina (Scale 50/1), Vladimir Logutov (Waiting) and other".

The Project Room showcases an exhibition by a young Japanese photographer Keita Sugiura – a 2008th Bronze award winner at the annual Tokio art-fair GEISAI organised by the Takashi Murakami for the young artists. Keita Sugiura's first ever solo exhibition is a personal prize to the young photographer from Victor Pinchuk, the GEISAI'2008 juror.

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