"Nothing but harmony. Vladimir Weisberg from the collections of the Pushkin Museum named after A.S. Pushkin and Inna Bazhenova"

"If our vision was perfect, we would not distinguish more objects, we would not see anything but harmony."

(“Vladimir Weisberg. 20 Statements.” Recorded and published by Ksenia Muratova.)

Foundation IN ARTIBUS and the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin combines two large Russian collections of Vladimir Weisberg - museum and private - and open a monographic exhibition of one of the most prominent Russian painters of the 20th century. More than a hundred works by the artist represent all periods of his work from the 40s to the 80s.

Vladimir Weisberg (1924-1985) - an outstanding artist and theorist, a key figure in Russian art of the second half of the twentieth century. His work does not fit into the framework of official art, nor in the circle of non-conformist activity. Weisberg is an artist of tradition, who worked according to the strict rules of classical painting and saw as his goal the comprehension of its laws.

The Pushkin Museum contains over 140 works by Vladimir Weisberg: this is the most complete collection in Russia. Its basis was a generous gift made by the artist’s widow, Galina Mikhailovna Ermina in 1997: 57 paintings, watercolors and drawings were donated. Since that time, museum staff has been constantly working to research and popularize the artist’s creative and theoretical heritage. An important stage was the monograph “From Light to Color” published in 2018 by Anna Chudetskaya, curator of the collection V. Weisberg in the Department of Personal Collections.

For many years, Weisberg Hall was opened in the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Private Collections, but currently all works are in the museum. The purpose of this exhibition is to help Weisberg’s work to remain continuously in the sight of specialists and a wide audience.

More than forty works - the mono-collection of Vladimir Weisberg - a special accent of the collection of European painting Inna Bazhenova. Working with Weisberg’s heritage - exhibitions, conferences, publishing catalogs and monographs, allows Inna Bazhenova to be called an expert on the artist’s work. In 2009, with the support of Inna Bazhenova, the first monograph on the artist’s work, written by Elena Khlopina, “In Love with Classical Art. Painting V.G. Weisberg in the tradition of colorism. "

In 2014, the non-profit foundation IN ARTIBUS opened with the exhibition “Vladimir Weisberg. In love with classical art ”, which presented works from private collections and works from the State Tretyakov Gallery and regional Russian museums.

Present exhibition Fund IN ARTIBUS and the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin open a joint project to study and popularize the work of Vladimir Weisberg in Russia. Weisberg’s works in such a significant number have never left the Pushkin Museum’s funds: the museum has presented more than 60 works to the exhibition. Weisberg’s paintings and drawings will be exhibited in space on Prechistenskaya embankment for six months. This will be Weisberg’s longest exhibition in the history of exhibiting his works. Within six months, more than 50 paintings will be exhibited, and the graphic part of the exhibition will consist of two blocks: the first is a museum, from the Pushkin Museum to them. A.S. Pushkin (February-April), the second - from the collection of Inna Bazhenova (May-July).

The paintings presented at the exhibition will include works from the earliest - forties, to the last work of the master “Venus and Geometry” (1984) which remained unfinished on an easel.

Viewers will again see one of Weisberg’s rarest landscapes “The Bush” (1947), early still lifes - from the Mashkovskaya “Snedi” to the illusionistic “Breads” (1950), the famous double portrait “The Shcheglov family” (1958); bright female images of the turn of the 1950-60s; iconic works of the 1960s - the time of transition from color to white, as well as the entire diversity of the “white on white” period (1970-80s). In the graphic part of the exhibition are drawings of different years, from a laconic linear drawing to a virtuoso "drawing of a painter."