Russia-India:
garden of friendship

Exhibition dedicated to the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations "Russia-India: Garden of Friendship" at the International Exhibition Center of the Russian Academy of Arts.

The Russian Academy of Arts in the year of its 265th anniversary and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and India presents an exhibition project dedicated to this amazing country.

The exposition, covering almost seven decades of Russian art, will include over 150 works, archival materials and personal belongings of artists of different generations. These are long-gone masters, full members of the Academy of Arts of the USSR A. Gerasimov, E. Vuchetich, and famous artists of the second half of the twentieth century, former members of the Russian Academy of Arts I. Glazunov, D. Nalbandyan, V. Pereyaslavets, O. Komov, V. Sidorov, A. Belashov, S. Nikireev, D. Zhilinsky, as well as the largest modern authors - Z. Tsereteli, V. Kalinin, A. Shmarinov, D. Tugarinov, D. Sandzhiev, V. Maloletkov, E. Bulatov and many others. The exhibition will also show the works of young artists - trainees of the Creative Workshops of the Russian Academy of Arts and graduates of the Moscow State Academic Art Institute under the Russian Academy of Arts.

The project will tell about the unique contribution to the field of bilateral relations in the visual arts, which was made by the Academy of Arts of the USSR (now the Russian Academy of Arts) after the establishment of diplomatic relations with India in 1947. Academicians found themselves at the forefront of these cultural ties, which are most closely woven into interstate cooperation. It was during this period that our partnership with India in the arts became systematic.

Viewers will see portraits of legendary Indian political figures who influenced the course of the history of the 20th century, created by E. Vuchetich, O. Komov and other Soviet masters in the difficult years of 1950-1960 for the country, portraits of representatives of Indian fine arts, theater and cinema, made by A. Gerasimov and K. Finogenov, genre compositions from the life of ordinary Indians, their way of life, joys and sorrows, which later formed entire thematic cycles in the work of such authors as V. Klimashin and D. Nalbandian.

In the second half of the 20th century, the first, touristic view of Russian artists on India was transformed into a deeper, meaningful immersion in the life, culture and religion of a distant, different and very mysterious country.

Regular exhibitions of Soviet art that took place during these years in many Indian cities, the opportunity to work with the masters of the Lalit Kala Academy of Arts in Delhi and with masters of folk art in remote regions of the country - all this simultaneously gave new creative impulses to Russian artists. From creative trips to India, S. Chuikov, V. Efanov, N. Ponomarev, V. Maloletkov, N. Romadin, D. Mitlyansky and many other authors brought works of such remarkable quality and strength of image that some of them were immediately included in the collection State Tretyakov Gallery.

M. Miturich’s Indian impressions have also become part of the classics of Russian book illustration. The 21st century has marked a significant mutual understanding and rapprochement of the two cultures. The most complex strata of Indian life and culture are now perceived by artists much easier, but deeper and more imaginative, which allows them in their work to deviate from the realism traditional for the Russian visual school in favor of more abstract and sensual images, so close to contemporary Indian art.