All that class (and not)
#Saint-Petersburg
Nataly Osmann

I love visual art: paintings, graphics, photos, and even the most daring experimental installations. An artist’s idea can take many forms, but it will always be about the same thing: eternity and love. St. Petersburg - our cultural capital - has always been associated with the finer things in life. Every moment here is exquisite, every whiff of paint, the ghosts of the past; everything is soaked in glory.

Classic museums

The State Russian Museum

Engineering Str., 4

I am ashamed to admit it, but I love the Russian Museum even more than the popularised Hermitage. Perhaps, it’s my irrational patriotism talking here, but when I realise that all of these halls, all of these mansions are filled with the works of the greatest Russian artists, I am seized with a sense of pride. And, of course, the beauty of the interior decorations in the Mikhailovsky Palace can’t be captured by any other means.

Hermitage

Palace Square., 2

The main museum of the city. You can’t just walk past and not stop to admire the pompous luxury of the Winter Palace. The Palace Square in front of the museum - a place that attracts all of the tourists and people who dress up as Catherine the Great and Peter I. In the Hermitage, I always wanted to observe how they set the legendary "Peacock" clock (Wednesdays at 19:00) but, alas, always missed this rite, being lost in the beauty of the other rooms.

Faberge Museum

Nab. River Fontanka 21

I discovered this delightful museum not so long ago, but it has already taken a leading position on the list of my favourite places in St. Petersburg. My love began after the imported exhibition of Frida Kahlo. Her paintings and drawings were on display in the Shuvalov Palace. The next day, I returned to enthusiastically explore the rest of the main exhibition. You won’t find a richer collection of Russian arts and crafts anywhere else!

Modern museums and galleries

Erarta

29 lin. Vasilyevsky Island, 2

In my opinion, this is one of the best museums of modern art in the world! And I’ve been to the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the MoMA in New York, and the Tate Modern in London. Whenever someone tells me that contemporary art does not exist, I advise them to visit "Erarta". There is an amazing collection of both domestic and international artists. And the museum building itself, epitomises the creative understanding of the word "modern".

The eastern wing of the General Staff building

Frunzenskaya nab., 22/2

It is the recently completely renovated part of "Hermitage", which is in charge of contemporary art. The renovation itself was talked about almost as much as the art complex. At first it was rumoured that the great and terrible Rem Koolhaas would do it, but subsequently his architect Nikita Yavein took over the reconstruction. Inside, well, you'll find stylish staircases, endless halls, and lecture rooms.

The Marina Gisich gallery

Nab. Peki Fontanka, 121

Marina Gisich has managed to create in St. Petersburg - a city where even the Impressionists are considered modern artists - the most serious conceptual gallery. What has me incredibly inspired is the fact that the collector is quite literally living in their own art space. On the second floor there are private rooms, where they hold informal meetings with artists, gallery owners, and other bohemian characters.

Museum of street art

Sh Revolution, 84

Photo: Dima Anikin (@dimanikin)

This is a place we liked so much that we decided to shoot an entire episode of our video guide in St. Petersburg here. This naughty Museum is located in the empty spaces of a currently open factory, and the inside is very reminiscent of trendy Brooklyn art lofts. Graffiti, shabby red bricks, strange iron constructions and fashionable youths in avant-garde outfits everywhere.

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