“Otechestvo my - in my soul: Art Without Borders”
ARTinvestment.RU   11 июня 2009

Today in Geneva, opens exhibition of works from the collections of the Museum of the avant-garde art, entitled “My Motherland - in my soul: Art Without Borders”

Avant-Garde Art Museum will present his first collection at the exhibition «Otechestvo my - in my soul: Art without borders». Exhibition opens in Geneva today, the House of Nations, 11 June, at 18.30, on the eve of the Independence Day of Russia.

The curator of the exhibition a corresponding member of Russian Academy of Arts, the President of the Russian Section of the International Association of Art Critics, with the UNESCO (AICA) and a leading researcher of Russian artistic emigration Andrei Tolstoy said: «The exhibition is devoted to the contribution of artists - people of Russia in the art of XX century. This exhibition - a visual confirmation of the artistic search for infinity, over which no control boundaries of national schools. This idea clearly demonstrates the collection of the Museum of Art avant-garde. The idea of establishing a museum owned by Viatcheslav Kantor, the President of the European Jewish Congress, became the founder of a new art institution. The main purpose of its establishment was podvizhnicheskoe desire to collect works by artists from Russia of Jewish origin and understand their impact on the development of twentieth century art. But the result was much significant. Thanks to the energy people are not connected with the art of the profession, but the collector has the talent and the artistic feel and the first steps aimed at the acquisition of basic works in the ten years was formed assembly of the highest level of the museum, which does not yield the most important collections of much longer history. Now the collection, numbering more than 300 first-class work can provide a first-hand half and unappreciated continent - namely, that the fundamental contribution made by the people of Russia in the treasury of world culture ».

One of the vivid examples - an unprecedented phenomenon of the Paris School. Imbued with the art of the air capital of France, accepted the hospitality of artists from different countries revealed their talents. Through an atmosphere of freedom and tolerance of Russian artists from the marginal mestechek become paramount masters. Their close cooperation marked the emergence of one of the most exclusive and ambitious level of artistic significance of events in the art of XX century. And it is hardly possible without the active participation of the country's political elite. Suffice it to recall, as many did in this former French president Georges Pompidou, whose name is named one of the largest and most representative museums in the twentieth-century art, in which a prominent place occupied by the artists of Paris schools - from the Russian Empire. When his successor, Zhiskare d'Estene was opened and a personal museum of Parisian born in Smolensk Osip Tsadkina , whose work adorned the capital his new homeland.

And this happened more than once: wheresoever have come from Russia - in Europe or the United States, it is the spirit of tolerance that allows for freedom of creative self-realization, became a platform for meaningful mutual enrichment of cultures, embodied in the original masterpieces , which currently can not submit art of the XX century.

«To me, our museum is not only a source of pride, - said Vyacheslav Kantor, President of the Museum. - This is the school. And it does not teach the history of art. Looking at these works, read through the lines of classics of Jewish literature, never tires of surprising paradox: surviving in the mincer revolutions and wars, suffering disastrous humiliation pale and urban ghettos, worse of all, a Jew suffers from the undivided love. That is not the drama of life, a drama of feelings. All what can be proud of our museum, not a vulnerable pride or social protest. All of this created by love, which seems to me the highest of human talents ». For his museum became the founders of the school of humanity and tolerance. The call to build a tolerant society - one of the goals of the exhibition.

It is no accident for the first presentation of the collection of selected center of international diplomacy - the Palais des Nations, the history of the erection of which is the best way to demonstrate the fruitfulness of a creative collaboration. In establishing a set of the Palace was attended by architects Carlo Broggi (Italy), Julian Flegenheimer (Switzerland), Camille Lefevre and Henri-Paul Neno (France), and Jozsef Vago (Hungary). The first stone of the building, which became a classic al-deco building was laid September 7, 1929.

The style of this architectural monument was included in the special design of the project and the author became a famous Russian architect Yuri Avvakumov , has created many wonderful exhibitions in Russia, Germany, France, Italy, etc.

exhibition in the heart of Europe, in Geneva, will become the first in a series of exhibitions planned by the Museum of the avant-garde art. Display collections Magma is conceived as an evolving exhibition project. In the coming years, this collection will be presented in the best museums of the world. In Geneva, will be billed about 40 pieces. The exposition will include works by Lev Bakst , Alexandra Tyshlera , Haim Soutine , Sonia Delaunay , Jacques Lipschitz , Ilya Kabakov , Eric Bulatova , Pivovarova and others.

«Otechestvo my - in my soul: Art without borders»

Three section exposition - «Experiments 1920's», «Paris School» and «De recusancy to conceptualists» - define the phenomenon, which showed a particularly strong artists from Russia. Many of them have become part of the world history of art. In their international nature of the works of art has proved particularly full.

Heroes of the first section of steel Leon Bakst and Robert Falk , Issachar Rybak and Lado Gudiashvili , Alexander Tyshler and David Shterenberg . Artworks chosen so as to provide the breadth of their creative range. Here and experiments aimed at gaining a purely expressive plasticity in Shterenberg, and search for a new poetics in Tyshlera.

Tyshler There are two rare early works ( «Flooding» and «The Director of the weather», 1926), who are forced to appreciate the magnitude of talent wizard. At the same artistic innovations always have been joined here with a desire to reflect more deeply the topic, the primary national consciousness. Example - «Georgian holiday» Gudiashvili and «pogrom» Rybak.

The international phenomenon of the Paris School has incorporated creativity of many people from Russia. One of the most striking of its representatives was Haim Soutine. Avant-Garde Art Museum has the largest private collection of works by this artist. Among the most expressive - «Konditer from Kanya», originating from the famous collection of Paul Guillaume. No less expressive «A woman in a green», accompanied the exhibition «Female Portrait» Modigliani. This is the only work in the exhibit, which does not belong to the artist of Russian origin. However, like all masters of the Paris schools, it is an international conglomerate, knitted community of artistic search and human destinies, Modigliani was associated with artists from Russia by ties of friendship and creative collaboration.

At the same time in the collection of Magma works by artists whose genetic relationship with Russia is now not so obvious. This Kyiv Louise Nevelson and who was born in Dvinsk Mark Rothko , made a significant contribution to the art of the second half of XX century (the last represented at the earliest portrait of Joe Liss, 1939). For the first half of the century by such names have become the defining Osip Tsadkin and Jacques Lipszyc, Sonia Delaunay and Gabon , and Of course, Marc Chagall .

In the space of the exhibition «Clown musician» Shagal (one of three paintings by the master assembly Magma), enter into dialogue with the ageless «Black Square» Kazimir Malevich . However, in indirect dialogue, as well as a black box was the main character picture Edward Steinberg , thus opening the third section of the exhibition . The magnitude of this exposure allowed to exhibit only a small portion of the work of masters recusancy and conceptualism, represented in the collection of magma. But they all deserve our full attention. Vladimir Yakovlev and Vladimir Yankilevsky , Mikhail Shvartsman and Dmitry Lyon , Yuri Cooper and Victor Pivovarov , Eric Bulatov and Grisha Bruskin , not to mention Ilya Kabakov (exhibited at the exhibition of« Beetle », in Magma, four major works by the artist), have become citizens of the world. And not just in the everyday sense. Their work outlined the upper limit of the last XX century.

And that is why the avant-garde art museum has decided to hold its first public exhibition. Time, art which he represents, has become history. And every story - this collection is worth so that lessons learned in its new generation of viewers, collectors and artists.

Source: Press releases Exhibition