The Barmuzei movement of artist, designer, and musician Vasya Lozhkin—a true punk and provocateur—was conceived in the early 2020s by Yaroslavl restaurateurs Yulia Samsonenko and Maxim Korobov. A permanent exhibition of works featuring cats and masons, inimitable chebureki, mind-blowing (in every sense of the word) liqueurs—all set in the bohemian interior of a bar—is what the 19 Barmuzeis look like, which the restaurateurs have opened across the country, literally bringing culture to the masses. Now it’s the turn of the twentieth Barmuzei. Such a beautiful serial number, of course, went to Moscow.
Vasya Lozhkin’s popularity has long since gone beyond galleries and turned into a full-fledged cultural phenomenon. Once posting his works on LiveJournal, he became one of the most quoted authors on the RuNet. Many people use his extremely unglamorous cats as avatars and slap them on T-shirts, and memes like “Eating while the Motherland sleeps?” or “Who here doesn’t like cats?” are a hit among statuses.
Alexei Kudelin’s (that’s the real name of Vasya Lozhkin) energy and charisma are enough for music, and theatrical productions, and all the Barmuseums he personally tours, and for new paintings. Incidentally, he created frescoes located in the most unexpected places of the ancient vaulted ceiling, and two triptychs especially for the 20th Barmuseum. Both of them, one opposite the other, hang on the first floor: the first is dedicated to the residents of the capital and is called “Muscovites live richly”, and the second is the author’s repetition of the work “Get down, fool”.
The capital’s “Barmuzej 2.0”, which opened on Wednesday, September 2, is located in the building of the Shuvalov-Golitsyn estate (late 18th century) on three levels – from the basement to the VIP balcony above the bar in the main hall. The name reflects both the number 20 and the updated menu concept: here you’ll find not only 22 varieties of chebureki, 15 types of yantyk, and 33 signature liqueurs from A to Z, like other Barmuzeys, but also a variety of appetizers to go with these drinks. Muscovites and visitors alike are treated to Murmansk anchovy, oyster mushrooms in sour cream, squid salad, grilled mackerel, and Basque cheesecake, and they’ll drink their own beer, “Kotik zhuchat koshechku” (lager), and “Pogovori s kotom!” (Talk to the cat!). (IPA).
At the Barmuseum, as in any other museum, at the exit you will find a souvenir and merch shop where you can buy reproductions of Vasya Lozhkin’s works, as well as magnets, mugs and T-shirts with his lowbrow art.
