Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

As we all know, the Russian art market doesn’t play a secondary role in the international economic scene. In recent years, it has been proven that new Russian millionaires have become one of the most interesting targets within the new market. New buyers invest huge capital into contemporary artworks, but also for masterpieces bound to national history of art. An example of this is the 2002 episode when the magnate Vladimir Potanin made a notable donation to the Hermitage to acquire the work  “Black Square” by Kasomir Sverinovic Malevich, father of Russian suprematism. Or we can even mention Viktor Vekselberg the oil tycoon who in February 2004, paid over 100 million dollars to buy a Forbes collection of nine Easter eggs by Carl Fabergé, goldsmith to the Tsar.
By now the wonderfully rich Russians are making themselves widely known on the international scene, favoured by the weakening of the dollar which drastically reduced the American’s role as leader. We increasingly help the increase of these buyers who are characterised by being strong wagerers, ready to pay huge amounts in exchange for works of great quality whether in aesthetic or economic terms.
But if these Russian millionaires are one of the most attractive targets on the art market, why make them uncomfortable? It is worth bringing them directly home as the winner. The idea is attributed to the gallery owner Larry Gagosian who opened a temporary gallery last year in Barvikha Luxury Village, an area in Moscow that is a symbol of unbridled luxury. Close to big “trendy”  brand names like Armani, Prada or Tiffany, Gagosian entrusted Victoria Gelfald to organise a mini-exhibition comprising the most celebrated contemporary art names such as Damien Hirst, John Currin, Cecily Brown, but also twentieth century artists like Gorky, De Kooning and Pablo Picasso. The Gagosian collection included around fourty artworks, totalling a value from between 80 to 90 million dollars and that which made a furore was the relative 60% of pre-sales. 
The current Barvikha Luxury Village site is still the leader ready to promote the Russians a step further in the international art market. In fact, for five days, Sotheby’s will be exhibiting some thirty works that will be showcased in the “Contemporary Art Evening Auction” on 14th May in a shopping mall in New York. In the exclusive preview, that will exhibit masterpieces valued for around 30 million dollars in total, you could admire “Caterpillar Chains” by Jeff Koons, estimated at 5,500,000 – 6,500,000 dollars, “Self Portrait” by Andy Warhol, valued at 2,000,000 – 3,000,000 dollars, a Richard Prince painting entitled “Millionaire Nurse” that will be presented at an estimate of 3,500,000 – 4,500,000 dollars at the New York auction.