Vaults: A2

A regular publication from the Vaults dedicated to different aspects of cultural production.

The first issues focused on individual workshops at the Vaults Centre for Artistic Production, as well as on the technologies and materials used there. Over time, the publication expanded, featuring articles on a wide range of subjects: from the history of various media to the problems of exhibiting and preserving contemporary art. Today its contributors include art, architecture, and design historians and theorists, as well as research staff from leading Russian institutions such as the Hermitage, the Pushkin Museum, and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art.

We invite artists to take part in the creation of every issue, and we print the copies on our own equipment—a RISO A2 risograph. Each issue is practically made by hand, bringing the publishing process close to the creation of an artwork. The latest issue can be picked up free of charge at the information desk at the Vaults.

The following issues are available only in Russian, but you can explore their summaries and visual design.

Official partner of the Vaults Centre for Artistic Production

Issue no. 8

А2: Print Practices 

This issue serves as a guide to the world of reproducible art. It opens with an article by Stepan Lipatov, curator of the Graphic Design programme at the British Higher School of Art and Design, who traces the history of the risograph. His narrative spans from unusual nineteenth-century copying technologies and early Russian revolutionary leaflets to contemporary artistic experiments.

Following this, Vitaly Sidorov, curator and senior librarian at Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, explores the world of zines—explaining their nature, creators, and production methods.

Anna Chernysheva, researcher at the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Pushkin Museum, continues the theme by examining the artistic qualities of engraving and distinguishing between its various techniques.

The issue concludes with a contribution from Alexey Veselovsky, artist and founder of the printmaking laboratory PiranesiLAB, who discusses the history, principles, and current trends in contemporary artistic screen printing.

Complementing these texts is a series of works by Mayana Nasybullova titled Privetich, featuring a charming character who explores different printmaking methods.

Issue no. 7

А2: Storage 

This issue was prepared in collaboration with the storage and archive departments of V–A–C Foundation and GES-2, as well as with specialists from Russian museums and contemporary art centres.

For A2: Storage, artist Misha Buryj created a special series of works titled Peace! Labour! Eternity!

In this issue, employees of V–A–C Foundation and GES-2—chief custodian Daria Krivtsova and cultural heritage specialists Andrey Belov and Dmitry Elchin—discuss with the Vaults curator Olga Druzhinina the complexities and nuances of handling contemporary art objects.

Our colleagues Sofya Nakonechnaya and Sasha Romanova write about the archive and media library of V–A–C Foundation and GES-2: what is their purpose, and who they can serve? The history and intricate structure of the archive, and its place within a dynamic cultural institution, are discussed by employees of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art: Anzhela Gurtsiyeva, Anna Dikovich, Sasha Peregon, and Alena Gerasimchuk.

Marina Shults, Head of the Department of Contemporary Art at the State Hermitage Museum, reflects on what artists should do after creating a new work to reduce the risk of improper storage and display. Alina Zorya, curator of Street Art Storage—the only institution in Russia dedicated to the work of the “street wave” of artists—writes about the particularities of preserving and collecting street art. Olga Dementyeva and Marta Yaralova, who work with the media library of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, explain how an archive of contemporary art can become part of a classical museum collection.

Yana Sidorkina, a researcher of the younger generation of Moscow Conceptualism, writes about the rethinking of archives in the work of contemporary artists. The issue also includes a conversation on institutional self-archiving with artists and residents of the Nizhny Novgorod studio Tikhaya—Daria Konovalova, Alexey Starkov, Artem Filatov, Vladimir Chernyshyov, and Yakov Khorev, who also illustrated the discussion.

Issue no. 6

А2: Ceramics 

This issue focuses on the work of the Vaults Ceramics workshop and, more broadly, on the use of ceramics in contemporary art. Olga Druzhinina, curator of the Centre for Artistic Production, discusses the various ways artists employ the workshop’s technological capabilities to address creative tasks. Artist and curator Anastasia Lyubich reflects on the properties of ceramics that allow for its widest possible application—from a material for sculpture to an active “participant” in performances. Evdokiya Dergilyova, Irina Safonova, and Anton Sidko describe their artistic research process using a new material they developed, “porfir”.

Oksana Lopatina, curator of the glass and ceramics collection at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, provides an overview of the ceramics workshop at the Abramtsevo estate. Artist Darya Krotova created Landmarks, a series of illuminated objects, specifically for A2: Ceramics; photographs of these works illustrate the issue. The issue concludes with a thematic Japanese crossword puzzle.

Issue no. 5

A2: Photo 

This issue features texts related to the Vaults photo laboratory. Katerina Zueva, drawing on projects by residents of the Centre for Artistic Production, explains how artists use the technological specifics of analogue and digital photography to solve creative tasks. Photographer and critic Mikhail Sidlin reflects on the history of photo installation and its connections with other art forms. For A2: Photo, artist Igor Samolet created Shift, a series of portraits using instant-print techniques. The issue concludes with a glossary, providing explanations of key photographic terms, from ambrotype to exposure.

Issue no. 4

А2: Sreda.
Kristina Pashkova 

А2: Sreda.
Slava Nesterov  

This issue was created in collaboration with the V–A–C Sreda online magazine. Twelve conversations, in which the magazine’s authors and the Vaults artists discussed proposed topics and uncovered unexpected connections, were collected in the book V–A–C Sreda 1: Beyond. A special issue of Vaults: A2 accompanied the book, featuring illustrations for the conversations by Kristina Pashkova and Slava Nesterov.

Issue no. 3

А2: Metal, Wood, Plastic 

This issue presents the Metal, Wood, Plastic workshop, and artists working with these materials. Lyuda Frost, head of the Vaults, shares the principles behind the workshop’s organisation and its history in a conversation with curator Olga Druzhinina. Architectural critic Alexander Ostrovsky speaks with artists Maxim Ksuta and Slava Nesterov about their creative methods, approaches to technology, and experiences working with the Vaults equipment. Yevgeny Klimin, art historian, composer, and educator, contributes an article on the musical installation Sonus EX by Vladislav Bek-Bulatov, Ilya Izotov, and Maksim Kolesov, created for the Vaults using the KUKA robotic arm. The poster for the issue was designed by Maxim Ksuta.

Issue no. 1

А2: Vaults 

This issue is devoted to global experiences of art residencies and the workshops of the Vaults Centre for Artistic Production, with texts by Zhenya Chaika, researcher at the Association of Art Residencies of Russia, and Olga Druzhinina, curator of the Vaults. Irina Korina provided the illustrations in appliqué technique.

Project team

Photo editors
Ekaterina Migal
Ruslan Shavaleev

Graphic design
Kirill Gorbunov

Printer
Artyom Kulyomin

Curator
Olga Druzhinina

Junior curator
Anya Agafonova

Head of the Vaults Centre for Artistic Production
Lyuda Frost

Legal assistance
Maria Davydova
Alexandra Vladyshevskaya

Editors
Daniil Dugaev
Olga Grinkrug
Vyacheslav Nemirov
Anastasia Rondareva

Texts in English
Simon Patterson