LONDON—Temperatures hovered in the mid-50s in England’s capital on Oct. 16, but inside the Louise Blouin Foundation building it felt a few degrees warmer, as artists, gallerists, collectors, philanthropists, writers, and art lovers gathered to toast the opening of the “Kandinsky Prize in London,” an exhibition of work from more than 40 hot young Russian artists.

Artist Oleg Kulik, the show’s curator, was on hand to show off the art he had selected and guide well-wishers around the exhibition space, which was modeled on a rustic Russian village and designed by another emerging talent, architect Boris Bernaskoni. The event was sponsored by the Kandinsky Prize and the Louise Blouin Foundation. (Louise Blouin chairs the foundation and also runs Louise Blouin Media, ARTINFO’s parent company.)

It wasn’t just young names that were providing the excitement, though. Simon de Pury visited to survey the work on display, and legendary artists Ilya and Emilia Kabokov came through to view this latest generation of artists and were seen posing for photographs with Shalva Breus — the publisher of Artchronika magazine, the founder of the Kandinsky Prize, and an avid collector.

“The Kandinsky Prize in London” is open through Dec. 10, 2009. For more information, visit the Louise Blouin Foundation.

Click the photo gallery at left to view more images from the Kandinsky Prize in London.