Russian art returns to Malaga but it has nothing to do with Moscow

The works of art were taken down and sent back to their country of origin, and paintings by Picasso took their place. However, the city’s mayor, Francisco de la Torre, said at the time that he wanted Russian works of art to be able to return to the museum and now that has been done – but without any involvement by Russia at all.

The Picasso exhibition will come to an end this month and on 22 November photographer Joan Fontcuberta will inaugurate Sputnik: The Soyuz 2 Odyssey, a project featuring the truth and the tales about Soviet cosmonaut Ivan Istochnikov and his mysterious disappearance during the space mission, which was reportedly covered up by the Russian authorities.

A month later, the Russian Museum will be displaying a creation by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: a powerful installation by these conceptual artists who emigrated to the USA in the 1980s.

The piece, called For Sale! is a reconstruction of a room in an abandoned house, left with sheets covering the furniture. They created it in the 1990s. “At some time in the past the inhabitants were living quiet, organised lives and suddenly everything changed for some reason and they disappeared, leaving no trace,” Ilya has said about the work. Now, with the forced exile of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians, it has taken on new interpretations.

After that, nothing has been confirmed but the council and the Museum authorities are in talks about other potential exhibitions with a Russian theme. Whatever they are, De la Torre has promised, “they will always be high quality”.