Anastasiya Ryabtsova’s collection

collector stories

Author: Marina Antsiperova

Photos: Varvara Toplennikova

06 May, 2022

We have heard a lot about the collection of Nastya Ryabtsova, photographer for Vogue, The Blueprint, Tatler, and have been wanting to see it for a very long time. Large canvases by Dubinsky live at Nastya's house, and at the same time there are a lot of sculptures — from Brodach to Balkenhall. We stopped by Nastya's house and talked about developing children's taste with the help of contemporary art, and also about the collector's gene and the reflection of modernity in her collection.

Antoine Rose

Sergey Sapozhnikov’s piece on the left, Jorge Quijano’s on the right

MARINA: How did it all start? It seems like you have a lot of art at home! Do you remember what your first purchase was? Maybe it was a photograph?

ANASTASIA: First of all, it's absolutely not true that we have a lot of art, I don't think so.

MARINA: Well, how! In the article featuring your daughters on The Blueprint, it seems that there is something huge on every wall!

ANASTASIA: Indeed, there are not enough walls. We have a lot of things in the corners, because there is not enough space. But still, I don't think there's a lot of art.

MARINA: How much is a lot?

ANASTASIA: I have never asked myself this question. I don't have much yet. It seems that no matter what size the apartment is, there will still be few walls.

It is difficult to say what was the first purchase: we love art, it is an integral part of our life and interior, no matter how primitive it may sound. In my opinion, it all started with buying photos in the gallery of Nina Gomiashvili "Pobeda", and then ... Then everything turned into a pleasant tradition. For example, Sergey gave me a painting (Kelyne from Opera Gallery) for the birth of one of my daughters, and gradually we began to exchange such gifts - art objects.

Tatiana Brodach

Misha Nikatin

MARINA: Do you and your husband have the same taste? Sometimes it happens that two collections are at home, each of which is collected by one of the spouses.

ANASTASIA: I would like to believe that. We always discuss purchases, and if we both like a piece of art, we decide to buy it. There are some things that he likes more, there are things that I like more. But there are no strong contradictions between us: nevertheless, we live together in this space.

MARINA: Interesting, in that shooting you have a lot of large scaled pieces.

ANASTASIA: Yes, I like large works. Just recently, I was discussing “Big Clay” with one of my children. We came to the conclusion that I just have a mania for gigantism.

MARINA: It seems to me that this is also a moment in the life of a photographer. To be honest, I really don't like it when small photos are shown. The larger the photo, the more it captivates you somehow.

ANASTASIA: At the same time, by the way, I visited Nina Gomiashvili in her Pobeda gallery, when she was not in GUM, but at Red October. And she was showcasing a Japanese photographer. On the contrary, those were microscopic works that forced one to approach, examine and spend much more time directly next to oneself. This is a technique of a different nature, and also a different mentality, a different culture.

Alexey Kiselev’s work in the middle, plates by Olga Shurygina

Sergey Bratkov’s painting

MARINA: Tell me, do you have a collector's gene? Did you gather collections as a child?

ANASTASIA: I don't like to clutter up at all, to be honest. I remember when they started giving us meaningless souvenirs, at some point I just threw them away, because I don’t like meaninglessness. I don't think I've ever collected anything.

MARINA: And the shoes?

ANASTASIA: Well, okay, then you can say the same about glasses. I've taken out two boxes of glasses over the past few months that I donated to The Cult. But this, it seems to me, is a professional problem, a legacy of so many years in the fashion industry. This is not about collecting. I am more cynical about this.

MARINA: Have you thought about what an artist should be like to please you? Maybe using some keywords or key themes, or something that reminds you of your life. What should be the piece so that you understand — I want to buy it, bring it home immediately, right now?

ANASTASIA: To be honest, there are no single criteria. I like to collect contemporary art, and precisely those contemporaries with whom I communicate. What matters to me is this sense of the immediacy of the culture in which you live. A close friend of mine collected "Jack of Diamonds", Larionov, huge names, and it was incredibly interesting — but I wanted to be related precisely to the modernity in which I live. To those people who walk with me in the same places. Like, for example, Sasha Paperno: I liked her for a long time, and later it turned out that we grew up together, and her and my mothers are the closest friends. It seemed to me that there is a certain symbolism in this. As a result, we have three Sasha's works. Also in our collection is Matrosov: it turned out that he was a close friend of Sasha Paperno herself, and she introduced me to him. Later, I asked Matrosov to do a certain work, which I gave to Sergei for his birthday. So each work in our collection has some kind of story.

Alexandra Paperno

Stefan Balkenhol

MARINA: Do you also have Balkenhol in your collection?

ANASTASIA: This, unfortunately, is not his kind of sculpture I would like to have in my collection. But at the moment when I really wanted to buy his work, we were able to buy this one — for our 15th wedding anniversary. At that time, there were not so many of his works for sale. Then he came to Moscow with several exhibitions, where I saw his more interesting works, but we are not yet ready for a second such serious purchase.

MARINA: You said that you have three works by Paperno in your collection. And I want to ask, what kind of collector are you: one who wants to cover more artists or follow the work of each of them more deeply?

ANASTASIA: I like to follow the work of artists, but I also want the collection to be diverse. For example, I like that my girls have matured, each of them has their own taste, which develops in absolutely their own way: what they like, sometimes I don’t like it at all.

MARINA: I think taste is a thing that is constantly evolving with us.

ANASTASIA: I absolutely agree with this. But sometimes it is difficult to suppress the first reaction in yourself when you see something that goes against your ideas about beauty. In any case, we have a family budget for decorating their rooms, and I give them this opportunity.

MARINA: This is a super cool story. Anna Dyulgerova's son, for example, asks for art for all holidays, and I am very interested in what kind of collector he will grow up to be. An occasion to reflect on family collections.

ANASTASIA: Yes, this is such a wildly interesting thing that you want to watch.

MARINA: How many items do you have in your collection?

ANASTASIA: To be honest, I never thought. It's just that some things are in storerooms because the walls are over.

For my birthday, I was given a bronze sculpture of a little man by Tanya Brodach. Before that, the artist has already sculpted us: there is such a more intimate sculpture from the artist. And a bronze man hangs near my desk and occupies a large wall, although in my opinion it requires an even larger wall.

Tima Illarionov

Apollinaria Brosh

Tatiana Brodach

MARINA: How often do you change the exposition?

ANASTASIA: Rarely so far, it was always a little painful for me to do this. Now I think that maybe I am too strongly attached to everything. But we have, for example, Newton's book, which we endlessly open to different pages, and the exposition changes every day.

MARINA: How do you do it? Do you have any shopping plans? Or is it all spontaneous?

ANASTASIA: Quite spontaneously. Although, with the start of Cosmoscow, we internally decided that in September we would allocate a budget for this. And usually we think that we just haven’t bought it for a long time, and if we really want it, we can buy it.

MARINA: Do you have any dream authors?

ANASTASIA: It's hard to say. I would probably like a sculpture by Tracey Emin. For a long time I wanted Vinogradov and Dubossarsky, and I still didn’t give up this idea and dream. Their work seems still relevant to me, and their influence on modern culture is hard to underestimate. So they are still on my wishlist.

Alexey Dubinskiy

Alexey Dubinskiy

Boris Matrosov’s painting

MARINA: Do you have a dream about your collection someday becoming part of the Pushkin Museum, or starting your own museum like Peggy Guggenheim?

ANASTASIA: No, I have an absolutely everyday approach to this. And I do not consider myself a great collector: this is a story about pleasure and just a part of our life.

MARINA: Finally, I would like to ask you to give advice to some novice collectors. Where to start?

ANASTASIA: From something small, inexpensive. Here I have a cool figurine of Nadia Likhogrud, I really like her work. Someone told me about her, and I fell in love with her works. But be sure, when choosing works, try to find out more about the artist — so you can choose not only an object taken out of context, but also the author who creates them.

collector stories

Author: Marina Antsiperova

Photos: Varvara Toplennikova

06 May, 2022