To peruse the collection of Vladimir Tsarenkov is to run out of superlatives. The statistics are blinding: more than 3,000 works, ranging from Greco-Roman art through Islamic metalwork to contemporary Iranian. But perhaps his finest pieces hail from the revolutionary era of his native country, Russia. As well as paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Mikhail Larionov, Natalia Goncharova, Constructivist pioneer Vladimir Stenberg and Kazimir Malevich, he also possesses over 700 works of Suprematist porcelain, 100 of them designed by Malevich.
No bald rundown of names and numbers can convey the thrill of seeing these works, as I did, in Tsarenkov’s own home. However, at Frieze Masters next week, a selection of his porcelain and sculpture will go on show at the Sophia Contemporary Gallery in Collections, the section of the fair curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal. Alongside Tsarenkov’s pieces, the gallery — which is co-owned by Tsarenkov’s son, Vassili — will show paintings by US abstract artist Robert Kelly, whose geometric style was influenced by Russian Constructivism.
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Robert Kelly 