Alexei Turchin, Moscow - MEET THE COLLECTOR Series Part Twenty One

I met Alexei Turchin when John Maizels (editor of Raw Vision Magazine) bought him along to one of my pop-up exhibitions in London a couple of years back. I have also seen him wondering about the Outsider Art Fair’s and wearing t-shirts with artists works on them. Here we find out more about this Russian collector in part twenty-one of my ‘meet the collector’ series.

1. When did your interest in the field of outsider/folk art begin?
My collection was started by my mother, Dr. K. Boguemskaja and I grew up with the art works. I became involved in collecting in 1997.

2. When did you become a collector of this art?  How many pieces do you think are in your collection now?
My mother’s collection started around 1985 and we worked together on it from 1997. After her death in 2010, I work on it by myself. I have around 1,000 pieces now.

3. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I studied physics and art history at Moscow University. I am also a futurologist and wrote several books about immortality and global catastrophic risks.

Alexei in front of a booth of artwork

4. What is it that draws your eye away from contemporary art to outsider/folk art? Or do you collect both?
I have a few art works of Russian contemporary artists, mostly from friends. I think that Russian naïve and outsider art is more ingenious than rational contemporary art, which is bind to repeating western examples.

5. What style of work, if any, is of particular interest to you within this field? (for example is it embroidery, drawing, sculpture, and so on)
Drawing and painting. Most of real outsider art is drawings, and drawing gives full freedom of the artists' expression.

6. Would you say you had a favourite artist or piece of work within your collection? And why?
I was in close contact with great Russian naïve and outsider artist Pavel Leonov and I admire his artworks very much.

7. Is there an exhibition in this field of art that you have felt has been particularly important? And why?
I participated in the Museum of Everything exhibition in Moscow at the Garage Art Center, which attracted a lot of attention.

Leonov works exhibited in the Museum of Everything’s show at the Garage Art Center in Moscow

8. Where would you say you buy most of your work from: a studio, art fairs, exhibitions, or direct from artists?
I buy mostly from artists, as it is the most interesting experience.

9. Your collection is known as the Turchin – Bogemskaia collection of outsider and naïve art based in Moscow – Can you tell us a little more about this collection please and how it came about?
As I said above, I worked together with my mother, Dr. K.Bogemskaia, from 1997. She was not only an art collector, but an important art historian and deputy director of the Pushkin Art Museum. She also organized one of the first galleries in Moscow: Dar gallery in 1990, which was devoted to naïve art. My part was that I searched for new artists and I was the first who became connected with such important artists as Pyzhova and Neonila.

10. Is there a reason that your main focus is on Russian outsider art?
I really like Russian naïve and outsider art as it used to be less commercialized or affected by mass media, and I have better access to the best artists here.

Leonov near his artwork in 1999

11. Has the collection ever been shown in its entirety or have select artists been chosen to be exhibited from within it? And what’s next for this collection of art?
No, the collection is too large to be shown completely, but I have provided art works for many personal and collective exhibitions. There are two exhibitions in the planning: “Pavel Leonov, 100 years anniversary” and the first personal exhibition of V. Sakian. Both exhibitions will be state museums in the fall 2020, and I have provided many artworks for them.

12. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
My collection consists mostly of historical artists, most of whom have died around 2010. Pavel Leonov died in 2011, Belich in 2012, Romanenkov in 2013 and Lobanov in 2003. They are different, as each of the artists evolved to create their own world. The new generation of artists is different. Even if they are people with disabilities, they often work in groups and affect each other. They may use the internet or have access to other informational channels. They are more affected by market forces. The age of titans is over!