The first large-scale exposition of Russian and Soviet art of the twentieth century was successfully held in the United Arab Emirates

In Abu Dhabi, the exhibition “Collection of Russian and Soviet Art of the 20th Century Art Russe: War and Peace”, which became the first major exhibition of Russian painting in the Middle East, completed its work. The organizer of the project, the Art Russe Foundation, presented to the public more than 120 works from its collection, reflecting the main stages of development of the national art school over the past century.

The exhibition was held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister for Culture, Youth and Social Development of the UAE at the prestigious Emirates Palace and aroused great interest of the public, in connection with which it was extended from December 10, 2015 to March 2016. For For five months, the exhibition was visited by more than 31 thousand people from the countries of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, the USA and Canada.

As the famous French architect Jean Nouvel noted at the opening of the vernissage, this exhibition “is simply amazing in its filling and power of influence and perfectly conveys the spirit and atmosphere of the grandiose era”. “This page of history is still unknown to many of us,” said Mr. Nouvel. “The exposition takes the viewer to an absolutely unique and at the same time critical era, and tells of artistic courage inherent in Russia.”

Rena Lavery, Executive Director of the Art Russe Foundation, considers this project an important stage in the work of the fund. “An exposition of Russian art in the Middle East is a very significant event to raise awareness of this page of the history of world art among a wide audience,” said Mrs. Lavery. - Outside of Russia, artists of the Soviet period, as a rule, are known only to a narrow circle of art experts, but the public, as we note from our previous projects, very well perceives the themes and artistic style of Soviet painting. The project in Abu Dhabi was no exception and was an important milestone for us, as it was our first exhibition in the region. ”

The exhibition in Abu Dhabi introduced the audience to the work of artists who were textbooks in the USSR, but little known beyond its borders. In four thematic sections of the exposition (“Heritage of War”, “Nature and Beauty”, “Meditations” and “Labor”), visitors saw the work of masters of different generations: “Worker and Collective Farm Girl” by Vera Mukhina, sculptures “Mother Mother Calls” and “Warrior” Liberator ”by Evgeny Vuchetich,“ Letter from the Front ”by Alexander Laktionov,“ And the World Saved Remember ”by May Danzig,“ And We Will not Fear ”by Nikolai Roerich,“ Again Two ”by Fedor Reshetnikov, as well as masterpieces by Nikolai Feshin, Tkachev’s brothers and other artists. Until recently, many of these landmark works for Russian residents have never been exhibited outside its borders.

The exhibition “Art Russe Collection of Russian and Soviet Art of the 20th Century: War and Peace” was the continuation of a series of exhibition projects that the Art Russe Foundation carries out abroad. In 2013-2014, at the initiative and with the support of the Foundation, an exhibition of Soviet artist Viktor Popkov was held in Moscow, Venice and London. In 2015, the Saatchi Gallery in London hosted the exhibition “The Legacy of World War II in Russian Art”.