The exhibition, curated by the Catherine Degot, opens in New Manezh. The focus of the project - a politically left-Soviet art, «Soviet modernism», very close in spirit to the west, but the language was deeply original. This is the art of the short period between the avant-garde and the Stalinist realism. Art of this time, surprisingly modern and close to a politically and socially-oriented conceptual design of our days. The exhibition presents the work of the sensational, is not known even to specialists: montage, painting gigantic proportions, photography, architectural designs, posters, sculptures mass action, the cinema. It was the art of public spaces and collective creative methods of production and consumption are subject to entirely different laws than the art of today's economic reality.

The exposition includes about 250 works by more than a hundred authors. The main figures of the exhibition - Alexander Deineka, Isaac Brodsky, Alexander Samokhvalov, El Lisitsky, Alexander Rodchenko, Alexander Labas, Boris Ignatovich, Kazimir Malevich and others. Discoveries are the work of Boris Golopolosova, George Rublyov, Boris Tsvetkov and others still not well-known artists. For the exhibition were selected works from the collection of Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO, since 1939 has never been shown in Russia, as well as the work of the store of State Tretyakov Gallery, State Historical Museum, the Research Museum of Architecture named AV Shchusev, Volgograd Museum Fine Arts, the Perm State Art Gallery and other museums. Submitted items from private collections.

At one point, more precisely, since the early 2000's art market has become increasingly popular art of the Soviet era. A passion for Russian academic painting XIX century bit deposited their positions, collectors have to look at socialist realism, and the price of this art began to grow rapidly. But not at all ... collectors initially went trodden academic way, though the Soviet: the work of Isaac Brodsky, Dmitry Nalbandian and Boris Iogansona enjoy great demand at auctions. The market was so overheated that it is a simple plot of an unknown artist in the «Social realism» topic could lead to boom in the bid. As a result, memories of the illustrations in the «Mother of speech», where for decades printed «Again deuce» and «arrived on vacation» Reshetnikova, a mass audience and the potential buyer on the official Soviet art has developed a very one-sided presentation, which dominated the last undividedly years 10-15.

All the more important to an exhibition, the task which show that Soviet art - it is not only a happy childhood, of which the holder so unanimously thanked Stalin. It was our last time, when the story was more drama with an open ending, the question «who picked up the banner of Lenin?» Has not been resolved, and did not know where to go the Soviet Union - democracy or dictatorship, starting «world revolution» or loop to worship leader.

first time, provides precisely this period of our history, especially the period of «cultural revolution» 1928-1932 years. It was at this moment the eyes of the world were turned to Russia, and the words «his way» was all understandable and shared by all of the slogan.

Interestingly, when overall «left» nature of art of this period, it was the place and doing the opposite phenomena. Along with the continuation of the avant-garde tendencies are beginning to appear, new art techniques, paradoxically Near Soviet art of the mid 1920's - 1930's with the West and «bourgeois» direction as Al deco. This is especially felt in the exhibition of the works of Samuel Adlivankina ( «Heroes for them») schedule Yuri Pimenov and Alexander painting Labasa.

At the heart of the exhibition - the reconstruction of one of the masterpieces of the era - Photo of El Lisitsky and Sergei SENKIN «Press», carried out for an international exhibition in Cologne (1929).

In a special program of film shows, prepared Gosfilmofondom Russian Federation, including documentary chronicle of the time, as well as excerpts from the film «beautiful Soviet era» - primarily paintings Grigory Alexandrov with the music of Isaac Dunaevskiy. Indeed, the bright and airy paintings of Alexander Deineka and a variety of images Pervomaysky demonstrations could not be better suited as a soundtrack like «Shiroka country, my homeland».

On the whole exhibition was a lively and fairly major, but it leaves schemyaschee a sense of missed opportunity: it is on the way to go country, and with it, and Soviet art, but it happened otherwise.

the past will not return, and nothing is no longer correct, so we need only recall or re-discover themselves and to assess fully the excellent art of this decade, from 1926 to 1936.

Moscow, New Manege, St George's Lane, 3 /3

June 18 - July 4, 2008

Anna Savitskaya

Source: Press Release MMSI , artinvestment . ru