Exhibitions
June 28 – July 20, 2025 | Nadya Tolokonnikova: I Wasn’t Invited so I Broke the Door
Nadya Tolokonnikova’s art is her weapon against tyranny. Born in Siberia in 1989, Tolokonnikova left Moscow at 16 to study philosophy. As Russian society became increasingly oppressive, Tolokonnikova became a multimedia conceptual artist and founded the feminist activist collective Pussy Riot.
Pussy Riot used microphones, electric guitars, and amplifiers they cobbled together from car speakers; they shouted and danced to shine a light on the Russian government’s increasing human rights violations.
Russian police have arrested Nadya Tolokonnikova more than 70 times for her anti-authoritarian art activism, and in 2012 was imprisoned for 21 months in a Siberian penal colony. Rather than give up, Tolokonnikova fights back with truth and art.
Turner Carroll is pleased to present Tolokonnikova’s internationally touring exhibition of works, which premiered at the OK Linz Museum and at LA MoCA, making them available for collectors. Join us for the opening and a presentation by Nadya Tolokonnikova at 5:30pm on June 28, 2025.
December 3 – 8, 2024 | Art Miami
Turner Carroll is bringing some of the most celebrated artists in the international art world to Art Miami, booth #209. Our curated presentation of works by FAILE, Swoon, Shepard Fairey, Nadya Tolokonnikova, Clarence Heyward, Virgil Ortiz, Angela Ellsworth, Jeffrey Gibson and Jeanette Pasin Sloan is stunning. Virgil Ortiz, the subject of a solo exhibition at the Lowe Museum in Miami, will deliver a lecture on Sunday, December 9 at the Lowe Museum, following a celebratory brunch. Please join us and contact us for tickets.
March 1 – April 1, 2024 | Blasfemme
Opening Reception Friday, March 1, 5 – 7 pm
The Turner Carroll Gallery exhibition Blasfemme emerges as a compelling testament to the profound impact of female artists who, over the last century, have orchestrated transformative disruptions within the art world. The exhibition unfolds as a tapestry of influential figures, drawing attention to their long-overlooked contributions.
The Godmother of Feminist Art, Judy Chicago, assumes a central role in Blasfemme. Her artistic progeny, the “adopted art daughters” Nadya Tolokonnikova, founder of Pvssy Riot, and Caledonia Curry, known as Swoon, join her in this exploration. Renowned for their pioneering work in social practice art, Tolokonnikova’s two-year incarceration in Siberia due to activism and Swoon’s distinction as the inaugural female street artist integrated into museum collections are emblematic of their trailblazing spirit.
The roster of groundbreaking women artists showcased in the exhibition expands further to include luminaries such as Louise Bourgeois, Florence Pierce, Hung Liu, Kara Walker, Leonora Carrington, Meridel Rubenstein, Kiki Smith, Camille Claudel, Angela Ellsworth, and Monica Lundy. Each of these visionary artists defied societal norms and expectations, collectively forging a path toward a more compassionate and equitable future. Blasfemme stands as a resonant chorus celebrating these artists’ indomitable spirit and enduring impact on the artistic landscape.
News
Interviews and press links: View more on our news page
Nadya Tolokonnikova Tells Vladimir Sorokin About Life Inside a Russian Prison (Interview)
The Interview: Nadya Tolokonnikova (ArtReview)
Pussy Riot founder channels her rage against Putin into art (DW)
Pussy Riot x Brooklyn Museum (PR)
Pussy Riot Turns Their Rage To Beauty (Office Magazine)
Russia Arrests Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova in Absentia (Hyperallergic)
News and blog articles:
Nadya Tolokonnikova’s POLICE STATE named Hyperallergic and Art News top exhibition of the year
Nadya Tolokonnikova’s “POLICE STATE” performance named one of the top art exhibitions of the year by Art News and Hyperallergic.
“More than a decade after Pussy Riot cofounder Nadya Tolokonnikova was incarcerated in Russia, the artist returned to a prison of her own making in her performance installation Police State (2025) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles this June. Tolokonnikova reimagined her prison cell as a space for art—a form of reclamation not only for herself but also for the Russian, Belarusian, and American prisoners whose pieces were incorporated into the installation. Inside, visitors could observe Tolokonnikova making music or art, or even resting throughout the day, via security camera footage and peepholes. The eerie authoritarian state came to life extended beyond MOCA, however, when anti-ICE protests erupted and the National Guard was deployed. With Police State unexpectedly closed to the public during the protests, Tolokonnikova continued staging the work in private, underscoring the piece’s continued relevance amid the ongoing political conflicts in the US and abroad. —Francesca Aton”
“Nadya Tolokonnikova, founder of the Russian feminist group Pussy Riot, has been imprisoned, surveilled, and threatened by Russia her country for her activism. (Russia recently labelled Pussy Riot an “extremist” group.) For her durational performance at MOCA Geffen this past summer, she recreated a cramped prison cell, where viewers could watch her through peepholes as she remixed actual prison recordings into haunting soundscapes. The urgency of Police State was made chillingly clear when anti-ICE protestors and police clashed in the streets outside the museum a few days into the performance, prompting Tolokonnikova to emerge from her simulacrum of state-sponsored repression, and confront its real-world analog. —Matt Stromberg”
Author: Sophie Carroll
Nadya Tolokonnikova’s POLICE STATE named defining artwork of 2025 by Art News
Art News writer Francesca Aton states:
“More than a decade after Pussy Riot cofounder Nadya Tolokonnikova was incarcerated in Russia, the artist returned to a prison of her own making in her performance installation Police State (2025) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles this June. Tolokonnikova reimagined her prison cell as a space for art—a form of reclamation not only for herself but also for the Russian, Belarusian, and American prisoners whose pieces were incorporated into the installation. Inside, visitors could observe Tolokonnikova making music or art, or even resting throughout the day, via security camera footage and peepholes. The eerie authoritarian state came to life extended beyond MOCA, however, when anti-ICE protests erupted and the National Guard was deployed. With Police State unexpectedly closed to the public during the protests, Tolokonnikova continued staging the work in private, underscoring the piece’s continued relevance amid the ongoing political conflicts in the US and abroad.”
Nadya Tolokonnikova’s groundbreaking performance art piece POLICE STATE was named one of the defining artworks of 2025 by Art News. The list included works by prestigious artists including Kara Walker, Amy Sherald, and Barbara Krueger.
