Iskusstvo v zhiznʹ, 1918-19252017

The exhibition will present the propaganda art of the first years after the 1917 Revolution. The agitation art of this time was truly mass and embracing different aspects of everyday life. The core part of the exhibition is the production of the Decorative Institute which functioned in Petrograd-Leningrad in 1918-1926. The activity of the Decorative Institute was characterized by a complex attitude to the making of the art pieces and organizing of the surrounding space. Varieties of artistic experiments had their source in the Decorative Institute and further were developed in the advertisement, poster and propaganda art. After the closing of the Institute in 1926 many of these initiatives were never brought to life. The collection of the Russian Museum includes over 30 objects of applied art connected with the history of the Decorative Institute. Also, there is a fine collection of the sketches for the city decoration, models for monumental sculpture and one of the best porcelain collections. Among the authors of these art pieces are such artists as Rudolf Frentz, Nathan Altman, Josif Shkolnik, Nikolai Lapshin, Mikhail Veksler, Lyubov Mileeva, Arthur Kletenberg, Evsey Vitenberg and many other representatives of the avant-garde. The exhibition will comprise over 200 objects from the Russian museum collection, most of which will be on display for the first time. -- From the Russian Museum website.