OSCAR SCHLMMER:
DANCING ARTIST

October 28, 2019 - January 26, 2020

Curators: Raman S. Schlemmer, Danila Bulatov, chief curator of the art department of Europe and America of the XIX-XX centuries.

Exhibition at the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin will be devoted to an important figure in 20th-century art - the German artist and choreographer Oskar Schlemer (1888–1943), who is considered one of the pioneers of the art of modern dance and performance. Timed to coincide with the centenary of the Bauhaus (founded in 1919), the exhibition is also intended to reveal the role of Schlemmer as one of the leading teachers of this renowned art school, where he, as a real homo universalis, from 1921 to 1929 led various workshops: from the workshop of monumental painting to workshop of theatrical art. It was under the leadership of Schlemmer that the theater began to play an important role in organizing the life of the community of students and teachers of the Bauhaus, reflecting the generally playful and experimental nature of teaching in this educational institution.

In his stage experiments, Oscar Schlemmer explored the possibilities of space and the actor inside this space, raised the question of the very nature of theatricality. This exhibition will demonstrate Schlemmer’s desire to turn spectacular art into a modern artistic expression, which is reflected in his key work The Triadic Ballet, as well as in dance productions, organization of costume parties, and work on the sets for musical works by Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky.

The installation of Oscar Schlemmer as an artist was to combine the avant-garde thinking of his era with humanistic ideas dating back to the Renaissance. This was reflected in his picturesque work, permeated by the desire for synthesis, harmony and universality. Man has always been at the center of Schlemmer’s quest, and it is no coincidence that the “Man” was called the course he developed in 1928 in the Bauhaus.

The exhibition will present the most important works of the artist, originating from the collection of the theater archive of Oscar Schlemmer and a number of German museums. Schlemmer’s work will allow the viewer to discover the unknown side of the Bauhaus, which was not only a school of applied art, but also a place for experiments in the field of performative arts and choreography, which to this day remain relevant.