Valery Yershov was born in 1960 in Yessentuki (located at the base of the Caucasus Mountains), Soviet Union , and studied at the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) State Repin Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Yershov then worked at the artists' community at Furmany Lane in Moscow (along with many widely recognized perestroika generation artists). Since 1989, Valery Yershov has lived and worked in New York

Yershov's imagery evokes a complex range of human emotions: danger, psychological discomfort, and hope. He does not depict leaves or branches on trees, thus depriving the forest of any temporal or seasonal changes; instead the permanence of nature as foregrounded in the outlines of rock-solid tall tree trunks is juxtaposed with the fragility and uncertainty of the individual, creating  an evocative contrast. Certain subjects imbued with biographical history can elicits nostalgic memories of Yershov's childhood; remnants of the Russian empire allude to the cultural and historical memory during the tumultuous times of the Soviet era. Each generation and diaspora creates a unique cultural heritage, but once an individual is placed into a new system, he or she may experience a sense of insecurity and fear of an unknown future, thus resulting in feelings of loss, displacement and wandering. By placing characters into this nonrealistic space, Yeshov highlights a unique subjective human essence.  

From Non-Conformism to Feminisms: Russian Women Artists from the Kolodzei Art Foundation.
Chelsea Art Museum - Home of the Miotte Foundation, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011, November 13, 2008 – February 7, 2009. Opening Reception Tuesday, December 9, 2008, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. click here for the press-release or visit http://chelseaartmuseum.org/
On Saturdays, January 24, 31, and February 7 at 3 pm, Gallery talks will be led by exhibition curator Natalia Kolodzei. Ms. Kolodzei, Executive Director of the Kolodzei Art Foundation and co-owner of the Kolodzei Collection, will discuss the artworks in this exhibition, as well as the history of Russian women artists, Non-Conformist and contemporary Russian art from the time her mother, Tatiana Kolodzei, started their Collection in Moscow through today. Tours free with Museum admission
The exhibition From Non-Conformism to Feminisms: Russian Women Artists from the Kolodzei Art Foundation is a selection from the Kolodzei Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art, and covers three generations, from the 1960’s to the present. The show includes work in many media - painting, works on paper, photography, and video. This exhibition is arranged thematically and features the work of emerging, mid-career and established artists. Twenty five artists, ranging in age from 30 to over 80, represent several stages in the evolution of non-conformist and independent art in Russia. The exhibition is a visual exploration of the development and accomplishments of women artists from Russia. The event is designed to generate public awareness of Russian women in art, and to empower women artists to pursue their calling.  
The first generation consists of artists who began their careers at the time of Khrushchevs “Thaw” of the 1950’s and took part in the first, crucial, unofficial exhibitions of the 1970’s, including Lydia Masterkova, Valentina Kropivnitskaya, and Rimma Gerlovina. The next generation includes artists who participated in the initial exhibitions and others who became involved in the early 1980’s, including Maria Elkonina,  Bella Levikova, Natalia Nesterova, Tatyana Nazarenko, Olga Bulgakova, Anna Birshtein, Marina Telepneva, Tatiana Levitskaia, Nadezhda Gaiduk and Valentina Lebedeva. The latest generation is made up of artists whose works date from post-perestroika and post-Soviet period from the late 1980's to the present, including Natalia Kamenetskaia, Alla Esipovich, Marina Koldobskaya, Marina Gertsovskaia, Tatiana Antoshina, Natalia Elkonina, Marina Karpova, Irina Salnikova, Anna Frants, Anna Brochet, Elena Kallistova and Natalia Sitnikova.

Moscow - New York = Parallel Play. From the Kolodzei Art Foundation Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art. 
Chelsea Art Museum - Home of the Miotte Foundation, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011, February 22 - May 17, 2008. Opening reception Wednesday, February 27, 6-9PM.  click here for the press-release or visit http://chelseaartmuseum.org/. National Center for Contemporary Art (NCCA), Zoologicheskaya 13, Moscow,  from October 16 to November 11, 2007. Opening reception on October 15, 2007 at 5:00 PM (click here for press-release in Russian language) or visit www.ncca.ru
Moscow - New York = Parallel Play: Selections from the Kolodzei Art Foundation Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art was shown at the National Centre for Contemporary Arts in Moscow in 2007 and, with its opening in New York, forms an art-meeting of the visual cultures. The exhibition highlights the artistic axis of the two cities, representing Russian artists living or working in these two art capitals and creating with their art an international context and distinctive intellectual plastic Russian "rhyme" in the art community. The works reflect the major current of Russian culture and describe the history of art processes and movements from the 1960s to the present. Moscow - New York = Parallel Play is a follow up to From Leningrad to St. Petersburg: Selections from the Kolodzei Collection, exhibited in 2003-04 at the Chelsea Art Museum in honor of the 300th Anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg. There are 100 works by sixty artists presented in the show, including Petr Belenok, Eric Bulatov, Oleg Vassiliev, Rimma Gerlovina and Valeriy Gerlovin, Vagrich Bakhchanyan, Ilya Kabakov, Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid, Leonid Lamm, Francisco Arana Infante, Dmitri Krasnopevtsev, Anatolii Slepyshev, Vladimir Nemukhin, Dmitri Plavinsky, Oscar Rabin, Eduard Shteinberg, Shimon Okshteyn, Natalia Nesterova, Olga Bulgakova, Igor Novikov, Valery Koshlyakov, Asya Dodina,  Slava Polishchuk, Alexander Zakharov, Sviatoslav Ponomarev, Tatiana Antoshina. 

Olga Bulgakova and Alexander Sitnikov. Paintings. Objects. State Russian Tretyakov Gallery, Krymsky Val 10, Moscow, November 2 - 25, 2007. Opening reception on November 1 at 4 PM. For more information visit www.tretyakov.ru

Olga Bulgakova and Alexander Sitnikov belong to the generation of artists beginning in the 1970s.  Their works have been exhibited widely in Russia, Europe and the United States and are in the permanent collections of major museums, including the State Russian Museum and the State Tretyakov Gallery. This is the first joint retrospective exhibition for the couple. In conjunction with this exhibition, Olga Bulgakova (ISBN: 9780975482964) and Alexander Sitnikov (ISBN: 9780975482988) have been published in both English and Russian languages. These books include essays by Alexander Borovsky, Barbara Thiemann, Natalia Kolodzei, Alexander Rozhin and Natalia Sitnikova.

Shimon Okshteyn. Dialogue with Objects. Contemporary Art Center MARS (Pushkarev Pereulok 5, Moscow) from May 17 to June 17, 2007 and at State Russian Museum (Marble Palace, Millionnaya str., 5/1, Saint Petersburg) from July 26, 2007 to September 3, 2007. Opening reception on July 26 at 4 PM.
A 336 page hard cover book with introduction by Evgenia Petrova and essays by Charlotta Kotik, Donald Kuspit, José Pierre, Natalia Kolodzei, and Jenifer Borum is published to accompany Shimon Okshteyn: Dialogue with Objects by Palace Editions, the publishing house of the State Russian Museum.  The book documents Shimon Okshteyn’s artistic development from his early Russian period through a 25- year career in the United States.  The book is published in both English and Russian languages and is the first comprehensive reference publication on the artist.  ISBN: 9783938051801

Vadim Voinov. The State Hermitage under a Full Moon. General Staff Building, the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. October 25, 2005 - April 24, 2006.
The exhibition has been organized by The State Hermitage Museum, in the collaboration with the Kolodzei Art Foundation (USA), Atellier II Gallery of Art (Moscow), Kultur Kontakt Foundation (Vienna , Austria), Pechatny Dvor Printers (St. Petersburg), Dean Publishers (St. Petersburg) and Free Culture Foundation (St. Petersburg). 
Vadim Voinov was born 1940 in   Leningrad  (now   St. Petersburg) and lives and works in  St. Petersburg  . In his works, Voinov uses a technique he himself created--functional collage--intended to reconstruct the history of Czarist, revolutionary, Soviet and contemporary   Russia.  In the 1960’s and 1970’s Voinov studied the history of early   St. Petersburg  architecture.  An art historian himself, he published articles and undertook archeological expeditions.  His devotion to archeology and understanding of the significance of each object introduced into his work a historical significance.  He developed functional collage beginning in 1979.  The objects used in Voinov’s works acquire a new historical meaning.  Voinov’s works are laconic in their composition.  
For this installation Voinov chose the unrenovated interiors of the General Staff Building on  Palace Square  .  The exhibition consists of collages and installations made of authentic found objects on themes connected with the newest history of   Russia  .  There are 73 works represented in the exhibition, installed in five rooms.  Each group of collages and separate installations are thematically connected and titled:  Red Wall; Circle-The father of a square; The Viennese Set; and others. The installation of the exhibition is an artwork in itself.
The catalogue for the exhibition includes 17 essays with 110 illustrations.  Each copy of the catalogue is marked by an original, unique object: a stamp from the 1920’s-1940’s with the image of a soldier (“Voinov” can be translated into English as “soldier”).  The catalogue is published in Russian and English.

 For more information visit: www.hermitagemuseum.org

Works on Paper: Soviet and Russian Art 1955-2005 from the Kolodzei Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. January 18 - March 31, 2006. Curatorial Talk and reception on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. 
Artists represented in Works on Paper include Vagrich Bakhchanyan, Petr Belenok, Leonid Berlin, Borukh (Boris Shteinberg), Andrei Budaev, Eric Bulatov, Valeryi Gerlovin , Eduard Gorokhovsky, Nonna Goriunova, Marina Karpova, Vyacheslav Koleichuk, Komar & Melamid, Leonid Lamm, Tatiana Levitskaia, Igor Makarevich, Mikhail Molochnikov, Ernst Neizvestny, Scherer & Ouporov, Valerii Pianov, Victor Pivovarov, Dmitri Plavinsky, Asya Dodina & Slava Polishchuk , Oscar Rabin, Alexandre Sitnikov, Natalia Shibanova, Anatolii Slepyshev, Yuri Sobolev, Marina Telepneva, Oleg Tselkov, Oleg Vassiliev, Lusia Voronova, Vladimir Yakovlev, Vladimir Yankilevsky, Alexander Zakharov, and Anatolii Zverev.

Historic MADI: Its Roots. Artists from Russia through Uruguay to Argentina in 20th Century. MADI Museum, 3109 Carlisle Street, Dallas, Texas. The opening reception on Friday, February 17, 2006 from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. 
Artists represented in Historic MADI. Artists from Russia through Uruguay to Argentina in 20th Century include El Lissitzky, Iakov Chernikhov, Alexandra Exter, Liubov Popova, Andrei Proletsky, Leonid Borisov, Alexander Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova, Kazimir Malevich, Valentina Lebedeva-Lesin, Ilya Chashnik, Nikolai Suetin, Leonid Borisov, Leonid Lamm, Vyacheslav Koleichuk, San San (Alexander Karasev), Mikhail Molochnikov, Gennadii Zubkov, and Eduard Shteinberg.
For more information visit: www.madimuseumdallas.org
Lecture: Wednesday, May 3, 2006 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, May 4, 2006 at noon
Lectures are free. Optional lunch $7.00 Tatiana Kolodzei and her daughter, Natalia Kolodzei, will talk about the challenges of collecting art during the Communist era. The Kolodzeis have published four books on Russian art and were recently named by Art and Antiques as among the top 100 collections in the United States. The collection started 40 years ago in Moscow at the height of the Cold War and now contains more than 7,000 works by over 300 artists. Many of the works in the Kolodzei Collection are by "Non-Conformist" artists trained in top art schools but who followed their own paths rather than that imposed by the State.

Moscow  Grafika: Artists' Prints 1961 – 2005. Selections from the Kolodzei Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art. September 13- October 22, 2005 at the International Print Center New York, 526 West 26th Street. The Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, September 22nd, 6-8 p.m. For more information click here (Adobe Reader required)
Artists represented in Moscow Grafika include Yuri Albert, Vagrich Bakhchanyan, Farid Bogdalov, Grisha Bruskin, Andrei Budaev, Olga Bulgakova, Ivan Chuikov, Andrei Filippov, Valeryi Gerlovin, Marina Gertsovskaia, Eduard Gorokhovsky, Ilya Kabakov, Marina Karpova, Komar & Melamid, Otari Kandaurov, Alexander Kosolapov, Lev Kropivnitsky, Valentina Kropivnitskaia, Leonid Lamm, Georgy Litichevsky, Igor Makarevich, Sergei Mironenko, Mikhail Molochnikov, Ernst Neizvestny,Victor Pivovarov, Dmitri Plavinsky, Oscar Rabin, Mikhail Roginsky, Scherer & Ouporov, Alexandre Sitnikov, Natalia Sitnikova Yuri Sobolev, Leonid Sokov, Marina Telepneva, Oleg Tselkov, Oleg Vassiliev, Vladimir Yankilevsky and Alexander Zakharov.
International Print Center, New York is located in Chelsea on 26th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues at 526 West 26th Street, Room 824. Hours are 11- 6 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. For additional information call (212) 989-5090 or visit IPCNYs website www.ipcny.org.   
The exhibition was also presented at Russian Nights Festival in Los Angeles.

Perestroika + 20:  Selections from the Kolodzei Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art. Harriman Institute, Columbia University , 420 West 118 Street, 12th floor, New York . September 28 to January 2006. Gallery Talk by Natalia Kolodzei, followed by a reception on Thursday, November 10 from  6-8 PM .
The exhibition Perestroika + 20:  Selections from the Kolodzei Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art features works by 21 artists from Russia. The works selected for the show construct a cultural image of   Russia    in the last 20 years by presenting work by a wide range of artistic trends.  Artists represented in Perestroika +20 include: Komar & Melamid, Eric Bulatov, Oleg Vassiliev, Natalia Nesterova, Taty ana Nazarenko, Eduard Shteinberg, Vladimir Nemukhin, Leonid Borisov , Olga Bulgakova, Marina Karpova, Marina Kolotvina, Valentina Lebedeva, Tati ana Levitskaia, Valerii Pianov, Alexander Sitnikov, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Farid Bogdalov, Dimitry Gerrman, Vladimir Kanevsky, Alexander Kozhin, Alexander Ney , and Oleg Slepov.
For more information visit www.columbia.edu/cu/sipa/REGIONAL/HI/

Young American Artists of Today. Festival of American Contemporary Culture American Autumn in Moscow. Central House of Artists, Krymsky val, 10. Opening reception November 4 at 4 PM. Exhibition continues through November 27, 2005.
Bergen Museum of Art and Science, Paramus, New Jersey. Meet the Artists on Thursday, February 9, 2006 from 6 to 9PM Exhibition continues through March 11, 2006. For more information visit: www.theBergenMuseum.com.
Young American Artists of Today exhibition  is organized by the Stas Namin Centre and the Kolodzei Art Foundation, Inc. ( USA ) in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography of the Russian Federation . Curator of the exhibition Natalia Kolodzei. 
Photography, painting, sculpture, digital works, printmaking and video art – all of these traditional and contemporary techniques reflect the creative variety of American art. The artists featured in the show include Leigh Tarentino, Julian Montague, Megan Foster, Erik Wayne Patterson, Adam Stennett, Fiona Gardner, Michael Cambre, Jeph Gurecka, Jon-Paul Villegas, James Sheehan, Sean McDevitt, among others. Containing works dating from the last 5 years, the exhibition will explore ideas and trends in which young artists are working today in America. 

The Kolodzei Art Foundation loaned several works, including Dmitri Krasopevtsev's "Still Life" (1958) to the exhibition Apartment Exhibitions: Yesterday and Today in conjunction with the First Moscow Biennale, 2005.

The Kolodzei Art Foundation, Inc., The State Tretyakov Gallery, and The State Russian Museum present Oleg Vassiliev: Memory Speaks (Themes and Variations) from January 27, 2005 to March 2005 at the State Russian Museum, Marble Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia. Opening of the exhibition on January 27 at 4 PM. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a 182 page book, Oleg Vassiliev: Memory Speaks (Themes and Variations), published by Palace Editions, the State Russian Museum, with essays by Amei Wallach, Andrew Solomon, Natalia Kolodzei, Ilya Kabakov, Eric Bulatov, Victor and Margarita Tupitsyn, and Oleg Vassiliev. 182 pp, 156 color plates, 13 color and 14 b/w documentary photographs.

Oleg Vassiliev was born in Moscow in 1931 and was one of the leading figures in the Russian "unofficial" art movement. Since 1990, the artist lives and works in New York.
In his art Vassiliev combines the traditions of Russian Realism of the 19th century with the Russian avant-garde of the beginning of the 20th century. Vassiliev’s principal themes, which were born while he was in Russia and continue to the present day, are his memories of home and houses, roads, forests, fields, friends and family.
Oleg Vassiliev: Memory Speaks (Themes and Variations) reflects the artist’s career from 1949 to the present day.
Please contact Natalia Kolodzei at Kolodzei@KolodzeiArt.org or visit Amazon.com

The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, in cooperation
with the Kolodzei Art Foundation, presents
Finding Freedom: 40 Years of Soviet and Russian Art
Selections from the Kolodzei Collection of Russian and Eastern European Art
November 7, 2004 - January 2, 2005
Opening Reception, Saturday, November 6 at 7 – 9 PM
Komar and Melamid Lecture with introduction by Natalia Kolodzei, Sunday, November 7 at 2PM
Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg  College
600 Klosterman Road , Tarpon Springs , Florida  

Petr Belenok. From the Kolodzei Art Foundation. October 4 - 31, 2004. Reception, Wednesday, October 6, 5-7 PM. Resnick Gallery, Long Island University, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, New York. The exhibition is part of the Mapping the Eastern European Diaspora: Ukraine. conference.

The Kolodzei Art Foundation, Inc., The State Tretyakov Gallery, and The State Russian Museum present Oleg Vassiliev: Memory Speaks (Themes and Variations) from September 30 to October 31, 2004 at the State Tretyakov Gallery, Krymsky val 10, Moscow.