"ANNA ANDREEVA. SOVIET OP-ART. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN OF THE 1960S"

The exhibition of works by Anna Andreeva (1917-2008), an outstanding experimenter of the "thaw" era, boldly combining relevant Western art movements and the legacy of the Russian avant-garde in her works and heading the Moscow Art Gallery’s decorative art section, continues the series of Heritage gallery projects devoted to Soviet design.

Like other outstanding Soviet artists who worked in unison with the latest trends in world contemporary art, Andreeva was able to realize her talent in the field of industrial design, located on the periphery of the Soviet ideological front.

After graduating from a textile institute, the artist worked for many years in the experimental department of the Red Rose Silk Factory. It was there that the famous series of shawls dedicated to space was developed, one of which was a gift to Elizabeth II from the Soviet delegation sent to London after Gagarin’s flight into space. As the leading specialist from 1964 to 1984, Anna Andreeva developed a number of new trends in Soviet textile design.

One of the powerful impulses in Andreeva’s work was her acquaintance with Eli Belyutin, who propagandized freedom of expression and avoided the ideological doctrine in art. In the works of the artist of the “Belyutin” period, a rethinking of the traditions of the Soviet avant-garde of the 1920s is manifested, and a trip to London in the early 1960s allowed her to get acquainted with one of the most powerful artistic movements of that time - op art and the work of Victor Vasarely.

Based on the stylistics and aesthetics of op art, Anna Andreeva embodied the concept of a new world in the works of Soviet design based on the theme of space exploration and scientific progress.

Another building of Andreeva’s works is connected with a modernist interpretation of national folklore and decorative traditions. In a series of works united by the code name “Bark”, the artist turns to the motives of Russian ornaments.

Today, the work of Anna Andreeva can certainly be interpreted as the art of the “second wave of the avant-garde”, where relevant Western ideas, mixing with the domestic avant-garde heritage, form a new image. The bold, “bourgeois” kind of work by Andreeva is a special phenomenon in the history of Soviet design, not yet studied and not known to the Western audience. The best proof that it can become a harmonious chapter in the history of world art is the work of the artist, acquired in 2019 by the New York MOMA Museum.

The exhibition will feature more than 50 author’s sketches by Anna Andreeva, as well as tissue samples made according to her drawings.

Exhibition Dates: December 18, 2019 - March 10, 2020
Address: Petrovka St., Building 20/1
Mon-Fri - 11.00 to 20.00, Sat, Sun - day off.
Entrance to the exhibition is free.