Society and culture: The exhibition “On demand. Collection of Russian Avant-garde from regional museums” in Moscow

The Jewish Museum in Moscow from April 8, 2016 presents the first large-scale exhibition project of the avant-garde of the Center under the supervision of Andrei Sarabyanov - a unique collection of avant-garde art from the collections of regional museums of 19 cities: Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Yelets, Ivanovo, Kirov, Kozmodemjansk, Kostroma, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Sloboda, Totma, Tula, Ufa, Cheboksary, Yaroslavl.

A major role in the formation of the avant-garde collections in regional museums belongs to a pioneering project IZO Narkompros of the formation of "Museums of Artistic Culture". It was initiated in 1918 by Vasily Kandinsky and Alexander Rodchenko. For the first time in the world of artistic practice it emerged the idea of ​​creating a museum of contemporary art. So, a special commission for several years purchased the work of avant-garde artists and distributed products in those cities where there were art schools. From 1918 to 1920 the work was purchased in 1926 from 415 authors, of which 1211 were distributed to 30 museums in Russia. 

For the exhibition at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center of the collections of Russian regional museums were selected more than 100 works by both recognized avant-garde classics - Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky and Mikhail Larionov, Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Marc Chagall, and not so well-known masters - Victor Bart, Alexey Gryshchenko, Moses Kogan, Alexei Morgunov, Savely Schleifer and many others - who have made a significant contribution to the history of Russian avant-garde art. Some of the paintings were restored specially for the exhibition.

The exhibition is the first part of the two in a project dedicated to the collections of regional museums. Chronologically it covers the period from the formation of the avant-garde in the mid-1900s until 1918. The second part will be devoted to the next decade (1918-1930s); its opening is planned for spring 2017.