Exhibition "Decorative Art". Works by artists of the Department of Decorative Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts

The exhibition "Decorative Art" is essentially event-driven. It is dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the Department of Decorative and Applied Arts in the structure of the Russian Academy of Arts, the origins of which can be traced back to the time when the All-Russian Academy of Arts was transformed into the USSR Academy of Arts in 1947.

The Academy of Arts of the USSR posed great tasks in shaping art policy in the country, in preparing a qualified art shift, as well as in increasing attention to the role and place of decorative art in transforming the living environment and the objective world of man. In 1948, creative workshops on various types of fine art were created, including a workshop on decorative and applied art under the direction of V.I. Mukhina. The history of the Department is closely connected with the names of the largest Russian artists F.F. Fedorovsky A.A. Deineki, N.V. Tomsky, V.F. Ryndina, K.I. Rozhdestvensky, M.M. Kurilko-Ryumin, L.A. Falcon. The branch’s field of activity included issues of the development of the art industry, design, design of the subject-spatial environment, design and exhibition art.

In connection with the change in the socio-economic situation in the country in the 1990s, the closure of many art productions, the conditions for the activities of artists also changed. Now their work is concentrated in workshops-studios, and creative ties with the enterprises of the art industry are weakening. Therefore, the Department of Decorative Arts focused on issues of authors’ creativity of artists.

The status of the modern decorative artist is changing markedly, the range of his work is expanding, the range of tasks and interests, the universalization of creative activity. Along with the main professional specialization, the artist turns to other materials, types and genres, which is very organic and logical, since decorative art in its essence is synthetic and uses the means of artistic expressiveness of painting, graphics, sculpture. As a result of communication between artists of glass and tapestry, ceramics and porcelain, textiles, jewelry, the art of modeling clothes, the general picture of the state of decorative art is recreated. At the same time, each author sees himself in the context of a single creative process.

Today the Department of Decorative Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts is represented by twenty-three artists working in different types and genres - glass, ceramics, textiles, tapestry, jewelry, enamel art.

The exposition will feature more than 200 works by academicians and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Arts. Including ceramics by Valentina Kuznetsova, Valery Maloletkov, Galina Korzina, Maria Favorskaya, Vladimir Gorislavtsev, sculptures and glass compositions by Lyubov Savelyeva, Fidail Ibragimov, Timur Sazhin, Olga Pobedova, Alexander Fokin, Julia Merzlikina, tapestries by Sergey Gavin, tapestries, compositions from Gavin Natalia Muradova, decorative panels in the patchwork technique of Nina Budyonna, monumental panels and compositions in the technique of hot batik Irina Trofimova and Tatyana Shikhireva, hand weaving by Alla Shmakova, art objects by Feli Ksa Kuznetsova and author’s doll Alexandra Khudyakova. These are leading masters in their fields, which determine the aesthetic level of decorative art as an integral part of the modern artistic creative process.

Nowadays, knowledge of techniques and technologies, a technical experiment are priority areas in the work of the Russian Academy of Arts, acquire the character of an artistic phenomenon in the search and approval of the author’s style. A decorative object in its spatial dimension acquires new artistic parameters. The evolution from subject to art object, the birth of new forms, such as installation, performance, land art, radically changed aesthetic guidelines, and at the same time, the figurative-plastic system of expressive means.

The exhibition "Decorative Art" by the members of the Decorative Arts Department of the Russian Academy of Arts presents a wide panorama of the creative process in all the variety of individual author’s visions of the general problems of contemporary art of the 21st century.

"Decorative art"
at the Russian Academy of Arts

The exhibition "Decorative Art" is essentially event-driven. It is dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the Department of Decorative and Applied Arts in the structure of the Russian Academy of Arts.

The origins of its origin can be traced back to the time of the transformation of the All-Russian Academy of Arts into the USSR Academy of Arts in 1947. By a decision of the Presidium of the Academy of Arts of the USSR in February 1948, creative workshops were created on various types of fine art, including a workshop on decorative and applied art under the direction of V.I. Mukhina. In her multifaceted activities, Vera Ignatyevna turned to various materials, including glass. In the late 1930s, she worked at the Leningrad art glass factory, where she created works that became classics of Russian glass-making.

In 1949, the workshop on arts and crafts was headed by F.F. Fedorovsky, who also directed the theater and decoration workshop. In 1952, a commission on decorative, applied and monumental art was created, which was transformed in 1958 into the Council under the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Arts on decorative, applied, monumental art and the art industry, headed by A.A. Deineka.

The Council was supposed to communicate with light industry enterprises, influence the artistic level of mass products and their role in updating the domestic subject environment. The response to the needs of the time was the All-Union Exhibition in the Central Exhibition Hall “Art in Life” in 1961, which defined a new art program of beauty and utility, simplicity and utilitarianism in the art of the objective world. Tasks for the formation and aesthetic transformation of the human living environment drew attention to decorative art. Over the years of its existence, the Council has played a large role in the establishment of decorative art as an important area of artistic activity and its importance in modern culture (ceased its activity in 1966).

An important event was the creation in 1962 in the structure of the Academy of Arts of the USSR of the Department of Decorative and Applied Arts, which was managed until 1966 by N.V. Tomsk. At the Department, artistic councils on decorative-applied and monumental, theatrical and decorative art continued to work. Over the years, their work was headed by prominent artists, secretaries and academicians A.A. Deineka (1966-1968), V.F. Ryndin (1970-1973), K.I. Rozhdestvensky (1973-1988), M.M. Kurilko-Ryumin (1988-1995). The branch’s sphere of activity included issues of the development of the art industry, design, design of the subject-spatial environment, design and exposition art. In these years, ties with porcelain and faience, glass, and textile enterprises in various republics of the country have been strengthened. The central theme is “Artist and Production”. Field meetings were held to discuss the current range of products, creative practice, the role and place of the factory artist, specialized group and personal exhibitions were organized, creative meetings and evenings were held.

In 1997, at a meeting of the academic assembly, it was decided to separate the Department of Decorative and Applied Arts and the Department of Theater and Cinema-Decorative Art into independent units. From 1998 to 2003, the Department of Decorative and Applied Arts was headed by L.A. Sokolova, and from 2003 to the present he is headed by academician-secretary L.I. Savelyeva.

In connection with the change in the socio-economic situation in the country in the 1990s, the closure of many art productions, the conditions for the activities of artists changed. Their work is concentrated in studio studios. Creative ties with the art industry are weakening. The Department of Decorative Arts has focused on issues of authorship of artists.

Over the past thirty years, decorative art has passed a radical path of development. A decorative object in its spatial dimension acquires new artistic parameters. The evolution from subject to art object, the birth of new forms, such as installation, performance, land art, radically changed aesthetic guidelines, and at the same time, the figurative-plastic system of expressive means. Decorative art entered the general context of the creative process.

The status of a contemporary decorative art artist is noticeably changing, the range of his work has expanded, the range of tasks and interests, and the universalization of creative activity is taking place. Along with the main professional specialization, the artist turns to other materials, types and genres, which is very organic and logical, since decorative art in its essence is synthetic and uses the means of artistic expressiveness of painting, graphics, sculpture.

There are many examples in the history of Russian and world art when great artists turned to decorative art. These are V. Vasnetsov, M. Vrubel, S. Malyutin, V. Serov, P. Kuznetsov, K. Malevich, V. Kandinsky, N. Suetin, V. Mukhina and many others. They brought a fresh, unbiased look at the material and its capabilities, while paying great attention to the issues of craft, mastering the technical techniques that form the basis of all objective creativity. Here I would like to make a small digression and recall that the Imperial Academy of Arts paid special attention to performing skills. Already in 1764, a “decree on craftsmanship” was adopted, which provided for all types of craft disciplines “involved in the arts” - turning, foundry, statue, metalwork, chased, varnishing, gold and so on.

Nowadays, knowledge of techniques and technologies, a technical experiment are priority areas in the work of the Russian Academy of Arts, acquire the character of an artistic phenomenon in the search and approval of the author’s style. Today the Department of Decorative Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts is represented by twenty-three artists working in different types and genres - glass, ceramics, textiles, tapestry, jewelry, enamel art.

Leading artists determine the aesthetic level of decorative art as an integral part of the modern creative process. Numerous different kinds of creative events - symposia, seminars, round tables, active exhibition, pedagogical, social, charity activities create an atmosphere of creative aura that affects the aesthetic state of society.

In a short message it is impossible to even list the number of creative actions carried out by the department of decorative arts of the Russian Academy of Arts. We will name the most iconic ones. An important event at the beginning of 2003 was an exhibition in the halls of the Academy “Continuity of generations. The artist and his students ”, dedicated to the problems of continuity and preparation of the artistic shift in glass. In 2005, the exhibition “A new look. New glass ”, which revealed new artistic landmarks. The exhibition was held jointly with Moscow State Pedagogical University named after S.G. Stroganova.

It has become a tradition to organize group and personal exhibitions of glass and ceramics in a small open space of the courtyard of the Academy of Arts, where the department has been organizing exhibitions since 2008 that confirm the fruitfulness of the author’s experiment in the new genre of land art, new trends are revealed, the names of young artists are revealed.

A major role in realizing creative potential, searching for and discovering new things is played by domestic and international symposiums, as well as master classes, contests where it is possible to create, show, teach, invent something new. Artists of the Department are participants, organizers of their conduct. First of all, these are symposia on glass and ceramics, held in different regions of Russia, where there are production bases (and there are very few of them left). For a short period of its existence (since 2005), the glass symposium in the small city of Nikolsk, Penza Region, has gained international status and plays a significant role in the formation of the author’s glass movement (organized by A. Fokin). PAX is its permanent co-founder. In fact, this is a large-scale master class, where artists and teachers - members of the Russian Academy of Arts - A. Fokin, L. Saveliev, F. Ibragimov, Yu. Merzlikin and yesterday’s graduates of the Moscow Art and Industry Academy S.G. Stroganov and St. Petersburg. A.L. Stieglitz work hand in hand. The best works are awarded by the PAX awards.

A striking and large-scale event was the two tapestry triennals held in the State Museum - the Tsaritsyno estate. S. Gavin, N. Muradova took an active part in their organization. PAX thanked the organizers of the triennial and active participants.

The art of land art is noticeably developing thanks to the holding in St. Petersburg since 2005 of the traditional exhibitions "Glass and Ceramics on the Grass" on Elagin Island in front of the Palace Museum. Glass Club regularly holds creative seminars with reports and discussion of exhibitions. All these years V. Gorislavtsev, F. Ibragimov, Yu. Merzlikin, L. Savelyev, A. Fokin participated in them.

A striking event was the Russian symposia on artistic ceramics in the city of Urzhum, Kirov Region, Gavrilov Yam, Yaroslavl Region, in the organization and conduct of which V. Kuznetsova and V. Maloletkov took part.

An important incentive in the formation of a creative path and a major event in the biography of each artist are personal exhibitions in the halls of the Russian Academy of Arts. They were held by the majority of members of the department of decorative art - N. Budenna, A. Shmakova, L. Savelyeva, N. Muradova, T. Sazhin, O. Pobedova, G. Korzina, V. Gorislavtsev, A. Fokin, B. Fedorov, T Shikhireva, F. Ibragimova, V. Maloletkova, S. Gavin, Yu. Merzlikina, V. Kuznetsova, A. Khudyakova. In 2018, an exhibition of porcelain by I. Olevskaya was held in St. Petersburg in the State Hermitage.

Here we also note the participation of members of the Russian Academy of Arts in large anniversary exhibitions - to the 70th anniversary of victory in the Second World War, to the 80th anniversary of Moscow Artists Union. At the same time, dozens of decorative artists were awarded with RAX awards - medals and diplomas. The reporting exhibitions of the Association of Decorative Artists of the Ministry of Agriculture and the continued participation of members of the Department have become traditional. Arranged once every two years, they became a kind of Moscow Biennale of decorative art. The role of T. Shikhireva should be noted in their organization.

The members of the department took an active part in the exhibition on the occasion of the 260th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Academy of Arts in 2017. It should be said about the active exhibition activities of artists conducting personal exhibitions in museums, galleries and exhibition halls in Russian cities. The geography of their holding is impressive. In recent years, L. Savelieva - Zvenigorod, Lipetsk, Voronezh, St. Petersburg, museums of the Moscow region, V. Gorislavtsev - Barnaul, Novosibirsk, F. Ibragimov - Moscow region, I. Trofimova - Moscow, New Jerusalem, Omsk performed their own shows., T. Shikhireva - Moscow, Yoshkar-Ola, Kirov, Novgorod the Great, O. Pobedova - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Velikiye Luki, V. Kuznetsova - St. Petersburg, Ufa, Lipetsk, Kirov, Yoshkar-Ola. The author’s project of V. Maloletkov “The Cup of Fate” with the organization of traveling exhibitions in dozens of Russian cities - Belgorod, Ryazan, has acquired a special scale. Tula, Lipetsk, Yaroslavl, Saratov.

Participation in foreign events is more episodic in nature. Nevertheless, we note symposia on glass in the Czech Republic Kamenitsky Shenov (Savelyeva, Ibragimov), in Lviv (Savelyeva, Ibragimov, Fedorov), in Lithuania - Panevezys (Ibragimov, Fokin), in Luxembourg (Fokin), on ceramics - in the Baltic States, on the tapestry - the triennial in Lodz (S. Gavin, N. Muradova).

The theoretical understanding of the creative process is reflected in the round tables and conferences of the decorative arts department of the Russian Academy of Arts. The topics of the meetings cover various aspects of creativity: the use of new materials and techniques, the shape and color, the role of decorative art in shaping the modern architectural and spatial environment, the place of domestic decorative art in the world community, and so on. The generally accepted display of copyright works is accompanied by their discussion by colleagues and specialists. For constantly present students of creative universities, such meetings are a kind of master classes. Holding master classes is one of the brightest forms of creative activity of the members of the Department.We will call “creativity lessons” on textiles And Trofimova (Ivanovo, Petrozavodsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Yamal), on ceramics.V. Kuznetsova (Moscow Art Lyceum, Lipetsk, Kirov), _ by the tapestry of S. Gavin (Saransk, Samara, Yekaterinburg).

As a result of communication between artists of glass and tapestry, ceramics and porcelain, textiles, jewelry, the art of modeling clothes, the general picture of the state of decorative art is recreated. At the same time, each author sees himself in the context of a single creative process.

It should be noted the teaching activities of the members of the department of the Russian Academy of Arts in Moscow State Art and Industrial Academy. S. G. Stroganov and St. Petersburg. A. L. Stieglitz. Members of the decorative commission of the Union of Artists of Russia are members of the Russian Academy of Arts - Basket (chairman of the decorative section of the Union of Artists), Savelyev, Ibragimov, Trofimov, Merzlikin, Fokin.

The commonwealth with many museums and art and public organizations is expressed in the full participation and assistance in arranging exhibitions, discussing them, and consulting. These are the VMDPiNI, the ceramics museum and the “Kuskovo Estate of the 18th Century”, the State Historical Museum, the Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve, the All-Union Exhibition Center, the Ramensky Museum of History and Art, Moscow’s galleries and exhibition venues Belyaevo, Nagornaya, Tushino and others.

The exhibition “Decorative Art 2018” by the members of the Department of Decorative Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts presents a wide panorama of the creative process in all the variety of individual author’s visions of the general problems of contemporary art of the 21st century.

Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts
Doctor of Art History
Kazakova L.V.