Russian Povera, a Limited Edition Book, Is an Introduction to a Fascinating Corner of the Art World that is Sure to Attract Anyone with an Interest in Art, Culture, or Design

In 2008 the influential gallery owner Marat Guelman introduced the world to the concept of Russian Povera. Also known as “Russian Poor Art,” Povera became the marquee term for post-Soviet artists who shared a tendency to pick up trash and turn it into art. Arte Povera is not a movement; it has no manifesto, and many of its members are self-described outsiders. But the retroactive label has stuck.

The concept and the exhibition became the most influential happening in the contemporary Russian art. Along with huge media coverage, it generated a series of related exhibitions, formation of groups of followers all over Russia and the former Soviet Union counties. 

If the modernists championed the idea that materials should be presented truthfully, then Russia’s “poor” artists are abrasively honest, finding their truth in cardboard, scrap metal, plaster, crude oil, animal fat and even their own blood. Their intentionally rough objects can evoke naïve art, but they are part of a very conscious effort to preserve authenticity in an increasingly materialistic world.
Beyond its unconventional aesthetics, Guelman argues, Russian Povera grapples with themes like social responsibility that have long been central to Russian art. Understanding this new genre enhances our appreciation of past periods, from gritty 19th-century realism to kitschy Socialist Realism.
Marat Guelman has granted us exclusive rights to debut Russian Povera in a book for English-speaking audiences. Though Poor Art is one of the most visible movements in Russian contemporary art, it is still virtually unknown in the West. Our goal is to create a book that introduces this groundbreaking concept to Western readers and serves as an exclusive manifest of the concept, which, no doubt, will attract lots of attention in the US and Europe, because of the visual appeal of the art as well as the story behind it.

Russian Povera presents what is happening in Russian art right now, written by its creators and those shaping its direction. The book, published in conjunction with the Russian Povera exhibition in the Perm Museum of Modern Art (PERMM), was released by Russia! Magazine and sold in the bookstores and museum shops around the world. This title was designed by Dima Barbanel, one of Russia's most famed art directors.

 The Russian Povera iPad app is available from Apple Appstore.