🗓️September 13, 2014 – January 11, 2015
NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART PURCHASE COLLEGE
📍735, Anderson Hill Rd,
Purchase, NY 10577 USA
As the world focuses on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, a new exhibition at the Neuberger Museum of Art gains renewed relevance.
This Leads to Fire: Russian Art from Nonconformism to Global Capitalism, featuring selections from the Kolodzei Art Foundation Collection, offers a compelling look at how contemporary Russian artists have challenged both Soviet-era ideology and the modern global art market.
Featuring 100 works from one of the world’s largest collections of nonconformist and contemporary Russian art, the exhibition spans from the 1950s to the present. It traces the roots of Nonconformist art, explores the rise of Moscow Conceptualism and Sots Art, and reflects on the influence of the Russian avant-garde and the enduring legacy of Socialist Realism.
Organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College, SUNY, the exhibition offers rare insight into a complex and often overlooked creative tradition.
“During the Soviet era, these artists drew inspiration from international art movements and relied on strong networks of creative and material support,” says guest curator Sarah Warren, Assistant Professor of Art History at Purchase College. “Even today, many of them navigate the lingering effects of Soviet Realism in an increasingly restrictive environment.”
Although many featured artists have exhibited widely in the West, this exhibition reveals the deeper story behind the Kolodzei family’s remarkable collecting efforts and the ongoing challenges these artists face.
Support for This Leads to Fire has been generously provided by the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art and the Purchase College Foundation.
Public Programs
Open House
Sunday, September 14, 1–3 PM
Free and open to the public
Neu First Wednesday Lecture
Wednesday, November 5, 6:30 PM
Masha Gessen: “Russian Power, Russian Dissent”
Held at the Music Conservatory Recital Hall, Purchase College
Followed by a reception at the Neuberger Museum of Art
Noted Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen will discuss contemporary political and cultural issues in Russia.
Collector Talk
Tuesday, November 18, 11 AM
“Collecting Art in Russia” with Natalia Kolodzei
Hear firsthand about the bold and visionary efforts of the Kolodzei family to preserve and promote Nonconformist and contemporary Russian art.
Neu First Wednesdays: New Media Lecture
Wednesday, December 3, 4:30 PM
“Artists Speak: Vitaly Komar”
Admission is free; refreshments provided
Acclaimed artist Vitaly Komar reflects on his decades-long response to political ideology and Soviet propaganda through conceptual art. From 1967 to 2003, Komar collaborated with Alexander Melamid on a wide range of projects, including painting, installation, performance, photography, and poetry.
Presented by the Neuberger Museum of Art and the New Media Board of Study, School of Film and Media Studies, Purchase College.