- 2003 — Selected as a key artist to represent the Russian Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale.
- 2004 — Nominated by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation for the State Prize of the Russian Federation in Fine Arts for the series Return to the Sublime (the artist made a noble gesture and publicly declined the nomination in favor of his colleague Mikhail Roginsky).
- 2004 — Represented Russian art at the renowned São Paulo Art Biennial (Brazil).
- Success Rankings — Repeatedly topped the lists and analytical ratings of the most sought-after, expensive, and acclaimed contemporary Russian artists (including indices by Forbes, InArt, and others).
Solo Exhibitions (Selected)
- 2022 — Domus Maxima, Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
- 2016 — Elysium, Museum of Russian Impressionism, Moscow
- 2014 — The Offering, Paris (as part of the FIAC Art Fair parallel program)
- 2005 — Clothing the Space. Iconuses, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
- 2003 — Regina Gallery, Moscow (packing tape artworks)
- 2001 — Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
- 2000 — Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow (Izba installation)
Group Exhibitions (Selected)
- 2003 — 50th Venice Biennale (Russian Pavilion)
- 2002 — 25th São Paulo Biennale, Brazil
- 1994 — Archaeology of a Utopian City (joint exhibition with V. Dubossarsky), State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
- 1993 — Ideal City. Trends in Contemporary Russian Art, National Museum of Singapore
- 1992 — Archaeology of a Utopian City (joint exhibition with V. Dubossarsky), Peresvetov Pereulok Exhibition Hall, Moscow
Works by Valery Koshlyakov are held in major museum and public collections worldwide, including:
- The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
- The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
- Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA), Moscow
- National Center for Contemporary Arts (NCCA), Moscow
- Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
- Museum of Contemporary Art (Collection Lambert), Avignon, France
- Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (USA) and Bilbao (Spain)
- National Gallery of Modern Art (MG+MSUM), Ljubljana, Slovenia
- The Saatchi Gallery Collection, London, UK
- Private collections in Russia and abroad
- 1992 — Archaeology of the Utopian City. Exhibition catalogue (in collaboration with V. Dubossarsky). Peresvetov Pereulok Exhibition Hall, Moscow.
- 1994 — Archaeology of the Utopian City. Exhibition catalogue (in collaboration with V. Dubossarsky). The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
- 2000 — Valery Koshlyakov. Izba [The Log Cabin]. Exhibition catalogue. Marat Guelman Gallery, Moscow.
- 2001 — Valery Koshlyakov. Exhibition catalogue. Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
- 2003 — Valery Koshlyakov. Exhibition catalogue. Regina Gallery, Moscow.
- 2005 — Valery Koshlyakov. Clothing of Space. Iconuses. Exhibition catalogue. The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
- 2014 — Valery Koshlyakov. Offering. Exhibition catalogue. Paris (as part of the FIAC art fair parallel program).
- 2016 — Valery Koshlyakov. Elysium. Exhibition catalogue. Museum of Russian Impressionism, Moscow.
- 2022 — Valery Koshlyakov. Domus Maxima. Exhibition catalogue. Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow.
Valery Koshlyakov
Valery Koshlyakov was born on June 21, 1962, in Salsk, Rostov Oblast. He began his artistic training at the art studio of the Railwaymen's Palace of Culture. From 1981 to 1985, and later graduating in 1988, he studied at the Grekov Rostov Art College. Between 1986 and 1989, he worked as a set designer at the Musical Comedy Theater in Rostov-on-Don.
Valery developed as an artist within the Rostov-based "Art or Death" association, which he joined in 1988. This group, part of the "South Russian Wave" movement, made a bold statement with its first exhibitions in Rostov-on-Don. The most resonant among them was the 1988 one-day exhibition 'Provincial Modernism,' staged inside a public restroom building.
When Western magazines fell into their hands, the members of the association copied the paintings featured within, internalizing the artistic experience of 20th-century masters. This experience profoundly influenced Koshlyakov’s artistic approach.
The next stage of his career, spanning from 1991 to 1993, involved working in the Moscow squats "On Trekhprudny" (Trekhprudny Lane).
In 2002, Koshlyakov participated in the 25th São Paulo Art Biennial, and in 2003, he represented Russia in the Russian Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale. His solo exhibitions have been held at leading museums and galleries worldwide, including the State Russian Museum ("Clothing of Space. Iconuses", 2005), the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO), the Museum of Russian Impressionism ("Elysia", 2016), the Tretyakov Gallery (2018), and the Shchusev State Museum of Architecture ("Domus Maxima", 2022). In 2018, the artist created over 40 new site-specific works for the Château de Franconville near Paris.
Valery Koshlyakov's works are held in the collections of major museums globally, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Louvre, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Centre Pompidou. In 2008, his painting "Versailles" was sold at Sotheby's auction for over $145,000.
The artist lives and works in Moscow and Paris.
