At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a new format of self-organization of artists emerged in Europe — the independent exhibition association.

Examples of this radical institutional shift were the new salons in Paris (Champs de Mars and Autumn) and the Secessions in German-speaking countries (Munich, Vienna, Berlin). At the same time, in Russia, artists, critics, and art figures such as Benois, Diaghilev, Grabar, Korovin, Pasternak, Polenova, Roerich, Serov, Somov, Ettinger, Yakunchikova, and later others, began to actively show interest in new expressive languages ​​and exhibition practices in European countries and, at the same time, strive for recognition on the international stage. In this book, the author examines their exhibition trajectories in order to show how the culture and values ​​of the Secessions as modernist formations influenced the lives and careers of the artists, and to present a number of key episodes of their work through a new lens.

Alexandra Timonina (b. 1994, Moscow) is a researcher, art critic and museum worker. She has participated in the organization of more than a dozen international exhibition projects. She worked in the public programs department of the Venice Biennale (2017–2023), at the Pinault Collection and other institutions. She has published in the Journal of Curatorial Studies, ARTMargins, Venezia Arti. In 2022–2024, she taught at Ca’ Foscari University, where she also received a PhD in art history (2022).