'The main task facing the 1st Moscow Biennale is to describe the current condition of contemporary art and to present a spectrum of those themes and plots which excite 21st century artists. The main exhibition of the Biennale, 'Dialectics of Hope', focuses upon the concept of 'hope' as one of the fundamental experiences of modern man. 'Dialectics of Hope' is a reflection on the influence of social and political changes occurring in the world, and on our conceptions about a personal and collective future.

'In this exhibition, prepared by an international collective of curators, projects are presented by 41 artists from 22 countries of the world. The special projects and parallel program of the Biennale includes more than 50 exhibitions, forming an exclusively complete image of Russian contemporary art, as well as projects representing the creativity of artists residing in countries of the former Soviet Union, Russian artists living abroad and contemporary foreign art.' - extracted from the commissioner's statement.

The present catalogue of the Biennale includes introduction by the curators and artist biographies. Please note that only Asian artists are listed below.