Gorky Park
— — the city's long afternoon by the river.
Not only on a wall.
“Moscow's central park of culture and leisure, opened in 1928 along a long bend of the Moskva River. For decades it was a faded Soviet fairground; the 2011 redesign under Sergei Kapkov stripped the rides, returned the lawns, and made it the kind of park Muscovites actually use. In summer, families bring blankets. In winter the central paths become one of Europe's largest open-air ice rinks.
Gorky Park, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after Maxim Gorky occupies roughly 119 hectares along the right bank of the Moskva River, between the Krymsky Bridge and Vorobyovy Gory. Opened on 12 August 1928 as a Soviet showcase, it was redesigned in 2011 by a team led by Sergei Kapkov, who removed the amusement rides and restored the original landscape plan. The park is bordered by Neskuchny Garden to the south and faces the New Tretyakov Gallery across Krymsky Val. Closest metro: Park Kultury or Oktyabrskaya.
Three seasons live here in distinct character. Summer fills the lawns with picnickers and the riverbank with cyclists on the dedicated lane that runs all the way to Luzhniki, about four kilometres south. Autumn pulls long horizontal light through the lime allées planted in the 1930s. Winter floods the central path system, turning roughly 18,000 square metres into an open-air rink that draws tens of thousands of skaters between November and March. Spring is brief and damp; the park stays cold into April.
Open 24 hours, free entry, with paid services for skate rental, bike hire, and the rooftop café at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art at the park's northern edge. The Garage building, redesigned by Rem Koolhaas's OMA and opened in 2015, doubles as a landmark for navigating the park. Weekend afternoons are crowded; weekday mornings belong to runners and to older men playing chess at the central pavilion. Toilets are clean and free. WiFi covers most of the riverfront promenade.