Noskin’s collection is hard to imagine without him, without his St. Petersburg apartment, open to artists and art lovers. And it shouldn’t be imagined this way. It’s a rare example of a truly original, democratic collection, which reflects the collector’s flamboyant flair and likeable character.
— A. Borovsky
In February, the Leningrad Center will present the heritage of the Noskin brothers, collectors from St. Petersburg. This private collection of Valentin Noskin and his twin brother Leonid includes over a thousand pieces by Leningrad and St. Petersburg artists of the mid-to-late 20th to early 21st century. Scientists and professors on the one hand and collectors and philanthropists on the other hand, they were guided by a sole principle: to buy pieces by the artists they liked. Passionate about people’s stories, they introduced unknown craftsmen and artists to the world.
Their area of interest was broad, with the collection featuring nonconformists such as V. Gavrilchik, S. Rossin, E. Mikhnov-Voitenko, and V. Ovchinnikov, not to mention V. Tyulenev, V. Mikhailov, and O. Yakhnin. The Noskin brothers’ taste allows them to bring together all these artists, with the addition of E. Ukhnalev, T. Glebova, and V. Sterligov, A. Basin, Yu. Dyshlenko, and V. Gerasimenko. The brothers not only shaped their own collection but supported contemporary artists of their time through personal purchases.
The collection of paintings, graphics, and small sculpture gradually outgrew the drawing room in their house and became part of St. Petersburg’s art scene from the 1970 to the 2010s. The apartment on Kamennoostrovsky Avenue was transformed into a meeting place for artists and art lovers. It became home to a true open museum, where an exhibition would come and go every two weeks to ensure that emerging young artists could benefit from inspiration and support. Nowadays, this iconic place remains open to a wide range of visitors.
The Leningrad Center exhibition features around a hundred paintings, graphic pieces, and sculptures from the private collection. One hall contains Valentin Noskin’s personal items and is designed to recreate the layout of his home, enabling visitors to experience the atmosphere of this wonderful apartment. The opening article for the exhibition catalogue was written by Ekaterina Andreeva, an art critic and senior research fellow at the contemporary art department of the State Russian Museum.
Curator of the exhibition: Ekaterina Khaletskaya.
Exhibition days: February 24 until May 22
The exhibition is open from 12:00 to 20:00 daily, or until 22:00 on show days
The entrance fee is RUB 300 (concession prices are listed on leningradcenter.ru)
Press accreditation is required:
Evgeniya Syundyukova, evgeniya.syundyukova@leningradcenter.ru, +7 (906) 261 16 21