Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gagosian Gallery, the art world's leader in exhibition space, is heading to Moscow to woo wealthy Russians with some 40 artworks by Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and contemporary artists from its blue-chip stable.

The gallery's 10-day exhibition, ``Insight?'' will open to the public on Oct. 19 (after a private viewing on Oct. 18). It will run at Barvikha Luxury Village, a high-end shopping mall outside Moscow where Lamborghinis and Ferraris are sold alongside Prada bags and Tiffany baubles.

``We are going to Russia because there is a growing group of very serious collectors who are buying contemporary art,'' Victoria Gelfand, the Gagosian director who organized the show, said in an e-mail. ``It benefits the artists we represent to expose them to this market. Not to do so would be very provincial and not good business.''

One of the wealthiest Moscow suburbs, Barvikha was once home to Russia's President Boris Yeltsin. Now its streets are dotted with mansions of the country's mega-rich who will have a chance to pick through paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs and limited-edition furniture by 30 artists.

Treating art as a luxury commodity is not new for Gagosian. Last month, the dealer had his Chelsea gallery transformed into a runway fashion show for a Levi Strauss & Co. collection co- designed by Damien Hirst.

Serra Drawing

In Russia, Hirst is represented by a ubiquitous ``dot'' painting, according to the gallery's Web site. Sculptor Richard Serra, whose monumental retrospective just ended at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, has a drawing. There's a laminate- looking chair by designer Marc Newson. Many works by the younger artists were created in 2007.

Russia, now in its ninth year of economic growth, is the world's second-biggest oil exporter. The number of Russian billionaires jumped to 53 in 2007 from seven in 2002, according to Forbes magazine, which estimated the group's collective worth at $282 billion.

Acquiring the works by contemporary artists is a recent phenomenon in Russia, where collectors have focused mostly on Russian art and decorative objects.

``Russians have a conservative taste,'' said Vladimir Ovcharenko, the owner of Moscow's Regina gallery, who's been stocking up on works by Jack Pierson, Tracy Emin and Barbara Kruger. ``Everyone wants something cozy. People like figurative painting, landscapes and still-life.''

Those who collect international contemporary art are ``typically under 40, bankers and lawyers, who speak two or three languages,'' said Gary Tatintsian, whose gallery in Moscow is a leading venue for international contemporary art. It showed artists such as Tal R and Peter Halley and will open a Vik Muniz exhibition on Nov. 1. ``They are very goal-oriented, ambitious and competitive. They bring this competitive rush to their businesses and now also to art collecting.''

(Katya Kazakina is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the reporter of this story: Katya Kazakina in New York at kkazakina@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 3, 2007 00:04 EDT