In October 2011, Musivum Gallery opened its doors with the exhibition Reliquarium, a Special Project of the 4th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. The exhibition, curated by Yuri Avvakumov, brought together the work of eighteen leading artists and architects from around the world. Working in pairs, each artist / architect collaboration created a modern reinterpretation of the concept of the reliquary. From notions of family and culture to the legendary tale of Koschei ( Кощей ), from a piece based on the work of Kazimir Malevic to another founded upon the mathematical form of Pi, each project takes its inspiration from a different aspect of the modern world, representing both a personal expression on the part of its creators and a contemporary inquiry into the nature of material memory.

As Avvakumov shared in his presentation of the concept: “The central theme of the 2011 Biennale, “Rewriting the Worlds”, is quite literally represented in this exhibition: mosaic, the traditional ‘music of the stone’, has been ‘rewritten’ and re-conceptualized across modern architectural and artistic media – from massive brick to pixilized tessera – by contemporary masters of architecture and visual art.”

“Reliquary” presented work by: Yuri Grigorian, Yuri Avvakumov, Aliona Kirtsova, Dmitri Bush, Sergej Chuklov, Totan Kuzembaev, Ilia Utkin, Sergej Choban, Slava Mizin «Blue Noses», ArtBlia, Obledenenije Arkhitektorov, Olga Soldatova, Dusciana Bravura, Marco De Luca, Marco Bravura, Matilda Traschevska, Toyoharu Kii, Pelagia Anghelopoulou, Verdiano Marzi, and Giulio Candussio.

The exhibition has been accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, curated by Yuri Avvakumov and designed by Igor Boury.