The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis
After the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Ministry of Culture began a formal program to export paintings to collectors in the United States. Since then, Johnson acquired one of the largest privately-owned collections of Russian art in the US.
Exhibitions comprised of works from Johnson's collections are displayed at the Museum of Russian Art, TMORA, in south Minneapolis. The art displayed is changed completely every few months. The building that houses the collection is a former church, a suitable setting for the current exhibition of 17th and 18th century icons. Transcendent Art: Icons from Yaroslavl, Russia is a collection of 54 religious icons saved from destruction by the Yaroslavl Art Museum during the the Soviet anti-religious campaign in the 1920s.
Modern Russian painters working during the Soviet era were obliged to create art that was glowing, optimistic and full of light, a metaphor for a bright future. In private, artists experimented with other styles, more reflective of the current time, and some of their work is gathered in TMORA's other current exhibition, Fade to Black: The Composition of Shadow has paintings exploring darkness, night and shadow.
And beginning on November 6, TMORA presents a month-long Russian film series. A selection of rare Russian films celebrates 100 years of Russian film-making. There's Cold War drama seen from the Russian perspective, the swinging sixties Moscow-style, and even a musical.
Comments
Greetings,
I am a writer/researcher and have been working with a retired Irish detective that investigated international art theft after WWII. Martin McDermott is the Curator of the recently established Eurisko Art Foundation which is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Martin has asked me to help him with his unique project of promoting the legacy of painter Ivan Garikow.
The story is an incredible tale of Russian artist, Ivan I. Garikow who obtained classical training at Repin Academy; however, no sooner did he graduate from the Academy when Hitler invaded Russia. Within weeks, Ivan was captured and taken as a POW. Incredibly, he survived four years in Nazi concentration camps and was freed by U.S. troops only hours prior to his extermination at Mauthausen. He then fled to Austria where he achieved moderate success as a painter in Salzburg during the post war years. He then suddenly disappeared.
Fifty years pass.
After researching Garikow, it was discovered that he had come to America via Ellis Island and made his home in Philadelphia until his death in 1982. There he worked from his own studio when he was not working for Newman Galleries.
Since January 2008, I have been working with Martin on what I like to call, “The Garikow Project.” Our mission has two primary objectives. First, we want to inform the Art world that Garikow’s life works has, indeed, been found as we believe that artist Ivan I. Garikow deserves his rightful place in Art History along with the other great artists of the Modern Age. Our ultimate goal is to work toward establishing a permanent exhibition to honor Russian Ivan I. Garikow – his culture, his heritage, and his paintings.
I would appreciate any guidance you could give me as to how I should begin in order to move this project forward.
Here is a 10 minute promo video about Ivan. Please watch: http://photoshow.comcast.net/watch/Cg9Wb4fY
Please visit our recently launched website: http://www.garikow.com
Thank you for your time,
Steven M. Nesbit
http://www.stevenmnesbit.com
Great post. I’m an artist from minneapolis myself, and have been meaning to head over to the museum. Thanks for writing about it.