Romance in Soviet Art – exhibition in the Museum of Russian Art (TMORA)

The Museum of Russian Art presents the exhibition Romance in Soviet Art in its Main and Mezzanine galleries. The exhibition will feature approximately forty paintings covering the themes of love and marriage reflected through the lens of art.

Dating predominantly from the 1950s and 1960s, the paintings depict young couples, weddings, family scenes, and, more often than not, scenes of collective work as sites of courtship. Romantic relationships occupied a markedly secondary position in the Soviet hierarchy of human pursuits.

In many Soviet paintings, romantic exchanges between men and women were presented against the background of a broader social and economic context.  They were part of the social mechanism, but not its most important part. Collective work to accomplish the grand goals of the Soviet project was presented with more glamor than the isolation of a private romantic life. The exhibition also includes works of the late Soviet era reflecting the changing realities of the period of collapse.

Invoking elements of wedding rituals and glimpses of amorous exchange amidst the hustle and bustle of industrial work, these paintings afford an unparalleled insight into representations of private life in Soviet Russia.

This rare selection of works by major Soviet artists derives from the comprehensive collection of TMORA founder Ray Johnson. Among the artists included in this exhibition are Geli Korzhev, Vladimir Nekrasov, Mai Dantsig, Vasili Nechitailo, Igor Razdrogin, Oleg Lomakin, Valerian Formozov, and other artists.

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