The Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art will present the final exhibition of the 13th season of the Winzavod Open Studios, "You Have Reached Your Destination," in which 10 artists examine various forms of travel and how the journey changes our perception of memory, time, space, and ourselves.

Artists participating in the 13th season of the Winzavod Open Studios include: Oksana Afanasyeva, Tima Illarionov, Alexander Krylov, Artur Krivoshein, Anna Lapshinova, Katya Nikitina, SAMUIL, Arina Shabanova, Irina Zyuskina, and Gosha Khomich.

Polina Mogilina, mentor of the 13th season of the Winzavod Open Studios, said: "The works, realized as installations, are not a set of visual metaphors about the journey, but become a space for reflection on what constitutes a journey, the conditions in which it occurs, the feelings that accompany the protagonist during the journey, and what remains afterward."

About the artists' projects from Season 13:

Oksana Afanasyeva, "Reliquarium. Sealing Presence," installation

The project "Reliquarium. Sealing Presence" is an installation in which a storage locker functions as a utilitarian object embodying memory and individual consciousness. Each locked cell preserves intimate stories, transforming the public space into a cathedral of personal relics—with photographs encased in layers of glass, symbolizing the palimpsest nature of memories.

Irina Zyuskina, "Roundabout. When the Trees Were Tall," installation

In some areas of Moscow, you can still find balconies glazed with bus windows. This image formed the basis of the installation—a looped spatial panorama, serving as a metaphor for constant movement and the unchanging cycles of life.

Tima Illarionov, "Shall We Take a Walk?", painting, object, installation

In this project, the artist explores the theme of loneliness through a series of autobiographical works that visualize the experience of living alone within one's own consciousness in a real-world setting. The project examines loneliness both as a thought process in itself, as a visual metaphor for inner search and reflection on one's experiences, and as a transformative experience of encountering oneself. Accepting loneliness as a natural state becomes a step toward achieving inner integrity.

Artur Krivoshein, "Kiosk of Relationships," painting

The work is based on the thought of the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, who compared the perception of a work of art to the optical capabilities of our vision. Here, painting represents the space surrounding us, and the transparent sculpture represents a window. If we look out through a window, we can focus our gaze on the road, the street, and the people, which will be clear and understandable to us. But if we shift our gaze to the glass, we are confronted with blurry colored spots. It is the second method that is preferable to interact with the work. This is how a person "contemplates" the artwork as such—an unreal image of our world.

Alexander Krylov, "An Island to Oneself-1, -2," "Mimik-1," painting, object

In the diptych "An Island to Oneself," the artist reflects on the human psychological adaptation to trauma through escapism. In search of inner support—following Buddha's admonition to "be your own island"—the subject turns to images from popular culture. The concept of the gameful mind, which describes the distorted perception of reality influenced by video games, becomes the basis for the creation of the image of a human "island," whose support is formed through gaming and media experience. The Mimic—a creature from the Dungeons & Dragons universe capable of taking the form of an inanimate object (usually a chest)—blurs the line between the living and the nonliving. By translating this motif into the image of a recognizable gaming artifact—a sword—the artist unites the living and the inanimate, the technological and the archaic.

Anna Lapshinova, "Liminal Phase," installation

An intermediate, borderline period of transition from one state, status, or place to another. The installation captures a moment of uncertainty, "suspense," destruction, the overgrowth of the old structure, and the emergence of a new one. This image is "neither here nor there." The visualized process requires a rethinking of the past, separation from the old, and the formation of a new version of the present. At this moment, accepting Uncertainty as part of the developmental process becomes crucial.

Katya Nikitina, "Room Abhors a Void," installation

In the installation, the chronology of private life takes on the visual image of a junkyard, assembled from the preserved and the rejected, the significant and the accidental. Facts coexist with mystifications, and losses are as valuable as accomplishments. This asymmetry of chaotic connections between artifacts from a past journey can coalesce into an orderly epic through the viewer's personal interpretations.

SAMUEL, "In the Footsteps of a Blind Dog," installation

"In the Footsteps of a Blind Dog" is a metaphorical artistic statement about growing up and the loss of naivety through a thorny encounter with reality. The project demonstrates that growing up is a path through a labyrinth of sharp teeth, which Fear, naivety, and pain are the key. But this path is inevitable.

Gosha Khomich, "Pretend to Be a Spring Shadow in Spring Flowers," painting, installation

The project presents a total painting installation in which the works, while valuable in their own right, come together to form a unified visual narrative and narrative space. It is based on reflections on the specifics of personal perception of events and the construction of an image from fragments of memories of a person serving as a lyrical hero. On the one hand, the journey's scenario is revealed through the author's personal lens. On the other, the deliberate avoidance of a detailed figurative narrative leaves the viewer free to interpret the scenes and their emotional content.

Arina Shabanova, "We Look at the Forest, and the Forest Looks Back at Us," painting, installation

"We Look at the Forest, and the Forest Looks Back at Us" is a panoramic painting installation in which the viewer finds themselves among guiding figures: they don't show the way, but observe and accompany the viewer along the entire journey. The idea of ​​animism is the notion that elements of nature—trees, rivers, rocks, plants—have their own presence and power. Humans are not the center here, but merely part of a living system of relationships.

The exhibition is open from April 22 to May 11, 2026. Admission is free.