Avant-garde. Riding the Wagon into the 21st Century
September 17, 2020 — January 10, 2021
“Avant-garde. Riding the Wagon into the 21st Century” is the most comprehensive reconstruction of the touring art exhibitions which aimed to familiarise the general public in remote Russian towns with the latest developments in art.
In 1918–1921, works of the Russian avant-garde were purchased by the state commission in large numbers and sent to all regions of the country. They strived to create a network of contemporary art museums that would not only demonstrate innovative art all over Russia, but would also educate the next generation of artists capable of starting a cultural revolution.
In just three years after the October 1917 revolution over 1100 works of art were sent to 32 cities and towns, where Free State Art Workshops were established. But devastation and hardships of the post-revolutionary period did not allow this utopian project to be completed.. One of its most dramatic episodes was the fate of the three exhibitions organized by the regional department of Glavmuseum of the city of Sovetsk in the Vyatka province (Kirov region).
In October-November 1921, 322 works of art were displayed at the 3rd traveling art exhibition of the Sovetsk district subdivision of Glavmuzei, including the works by A. Drevin, V. Kandinsky, I. Mashkov, A. Rodchenko, V. Stepanova, N. Udaltsova, V. Chekrygin and other avant-garde artists.
The exhibition was meant to tour the towns of the Vyatka province, such as: Sovetsk, Yaransk, Tsarevo-Sanchursk, Malmyzh, Urzhum, Nolinsk, and Vyatka. However, it was only shown in Sovetsk and Yaransk.. Due to the harsh weather conditions, which made the roads impassable, and financial difficulties, the exhibition was stopped in its tracks and all 322 works were forgotten and kept in storage in the small regional museums for almost 100 years.
Not all the works have survived the test of time — some have been lost and others have required substantial restoration. All the works which have survived to this day and which could be saved will be shown together once again.
This exhibition was curated by Natalia Murray, Andrei Sarabianov and Anna Shakina with the support of the Yeltsin Center and the cultural and publishing project “Encyclopedia of the Russian Avant-garde”.
