Newsweek takes a tour of the Russian Contemporary Art landscape and finds ladies in the forefront:

“I think there is a perception in Russia that if something is Russian it is generally not as good as something that is from America or Europe,” says Zhukova. “That is a complete misconception.” Zhukova is at the forefront of a group of Russian-born women fighting hard to change that perception. These women, mostly wealthy, well-educated art lovers who are as interested in promoting their homeland as in exploiting economic opportunity, have opened a rash of new Russian-art galleries—many in London, where two thirds of all Russian contemporary art is sold. Last month, St. Petersburg–born financier Nonna Materkova opened Calvert 22, a nonprofit gallery dedicated to Russian and Eastern European art, in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood. […]

Ilona Orel, who since 2001 has run a successful gallery in Paris selling Russian contemporary works, inaugurated her London branch in April [….] Orel, 38, says that women have seized on the art-market opportunities partly out of traditional attitudes at home. “Maybe it’s a part of Russian culture that men [are seen] to do the hard work and women do more cultural things,” she says. “Art is not seen as a business but as pleasure.” […]

Emboldened by increased travel and free-market opportunities, Russia’s young artists are experimenting with new media and techniques, as well as subject matter. Over the past decade, the vast wealth coming out of Russia—combined with Russians’ growing interest in collecting—has completely invigorated the market for such works. “There was a lot of skepticism when I opened my gallery in the beginning,” says Orel. “People were like, ‘Who knows and cares about Russian contemporary art?’ But when I put on a show in a Parisian exhibition space, I had so much demand afterward that I knew there was a niche in the market.”

Russia on the Walls (Newsweek)