The founder of the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art died in London

MOSCOW, January 12 Art critic, founder of the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art Joseph Backstein passed away in London hospital, reported the press service of the Institute of Contemporary Art.
“

"Today in London, Joseph Markovich Backstein passed away in the hospital. His wife Katie Dippwell said that it was quiet and calm,” says a message published on Facebook*

The Telegram channel of the Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art reported that he died after a long illness, with which doctors could no longer cope with.

«Today, only the official biography of Joseph Backstein preserves a record of his fundamental education in the field of heavy engineering. He is known all over the world as a curator and art critic: Joseph Backstein was one of those who transformed the first ten years of the 21st century century of Moscow into the fireworks of world contemporary art,” the message says.

Bakstein was born in 1945. In 1988, he organized the first exhibition of the Avant-Garde Club and since then has been the curator of many significant projects, such as the ArtKunstvo exhibition in Berlin in 1988, exhibitions in Butyrka prison in 1992, as well as the Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art.
*The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist.