Exhibition "Pioneers of Soviet Modernism" Automatic translate

The A. V. Shchusev State Museum of Architecture presents the exhibition “Pioneers of Soviet Modernism”, dedicated to the process of the formation of a new style in the USSR in the mid 1950-60s. The exposition will include the most striking projects of Soviet architects of this period, including international ones.

Soviet modernism arose against the backdrop of sharp criticism of retrospective directions in architecture, when architects had to develop a new artistic language in a short time. This style is still underestimated and insufficiently studied in Russian art criticism, despite the fact that it includes such famous buildings as the Palace of Pioneers on the Sparrow Hills and the ensemble of the Artek children’s camp.

Especially for the exhibition, an architectural model of the Palace of Pioneers was developed, which reproduces the implemented complex, as well as second-stage buildings, conceived by the authors, but not embodied. The Palace of Pioneers on the Sparrow Hills (1958-1962) is an expressive example of early Soviet modernism. It was created by a team of young architects: V. S. Egerev, V. S. Kubasov, F. A. Novikov, B. V. Paluy, M. N. Khazhakyan and designer Yu. I. Ionov. The exposition of the section on the Palace will include project graphics and sketches of the monumental and decorative design of the building, which are an example of a synthesis of arts that returned in the years of the “thaw”.

The exhibition will also show the projects of the pavilions of the World Exhibitions in Montreal, Moscow and Brussels. The exhibition in Brussels in 1958 was the first international performance of the USSR after the Second World War. The pavilion, created by architects Yu. I. Abramov, A. B. Boretsky, V. A. Dubov, A. T. Polyansky and engineer Yu. V. Ratskevich, surprised the participants with its innovation, manufacturability and was called by the Belgian press “Pavilion No. 1 ". The historical model, specially restored for the exhibition, will be shown to the public for the first time in a long time.

In addition, the exhibition will include the project of "New Cheryomushki" - the first metropolitan district of a new type. Today, the word "Khrushchev" carries negative connotations, but do not forget that prefabricated houses were conceived as a temporary measure aimed at solving the deep housing crisis and allowing millions of people to be relocated from barracks and dilapidated communal apartments to separate apartments.

The objective of the exhibition “Pioneers of Soviet Modernism” is not only to show the public rare archival materials, but also to break the stereotype of the boring and faceless Soviet architecture of the second half of the 20th century.

Curators of the exhibition: Irina Chepkunova, Polina Streltsova, Ksenia Kokorina.