FIAE'S EXHIBITION
PROJECTS
CURRENT
EXHIBITIONS :
• American
Artists from the Russian Empire:
In collaboration with the State Russian Museum, this multi-faceted project
examines the impact artists born in the Russian Empire had on American
culture, and highlights their contributions in shaping American art
through the process of cultural influence and exchanges. The catalogue
and the documentary film that accompany the exhibition further study
the question of immigration and cultural symbiosis. The exhibit is on
view at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum at the University of Oklahoma until
January 2009. The exhibit will then travel to Russia where it will be
presented at the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, and the State
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, and following these venues will return to
the U.S. in the Fall of 2010 to be shown at the San Diego Museum of
Art.
• Palekh:
Icons to Souvenir Boxes to Icons: The Foundation
is cooperating with the Russian Ministry of Culture’s Museum-Exhibition
Center ROSIZO to present an exhibition of the true artistry and the
unique creations of Palekh masters over the past three hundred years.
The exhibit covers the historical range of Palekh works and explores
the techniques of the masters over time. The exhibit is currently on
view at Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska until January 2009. It will
then travel to the Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Massachusetts January
– March 2009.
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS:
• Treasures
from Ancient Ukrainian Civilizations:
At the invitation of the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States,
FIAE will be presenting a unique exhibition of historical relics from
the territory of Ukraine. Collected over many years by two Ukrainian
businessmen, Sergei Platonov and Sergei Taruta, the proposed exhibition
will span 6,000 years of history of tribes and people who inhabited
the territory of modern Ukraine. Special attention will be devoted to
unique pottery and clay sculptures from the Trypillian Culture, mythical
animal-style art of the Scythians, and splendid Greek artifacts discovered
in the region of the Black Sea between the 7th and 2nd centuries B.C.
The exhibition will also feature treasures from the Byzantine Empire,
Kievan Rus’, and various Steppe nomads. FIAE is working with U.S.
museums on a tour in 2010/2011.
• Ukrainian
Icons and Iconography Through the Centuries:
Ukrainian icons have long reflected the geographic history of Ukraine
– located between Orthodox Russia and Catholic Poland. While tracing
the history of Ukrainian icons and their shifting influences, the exhibition
will focus on these core traits. The dominant feature within Ukrainian
icons is the use of three colors: blue representing Christian love and
forgiveness, red for martyrdom, and gold for Paradise. With the rebirth
of political independence, Ukraine’s cultural and religious history
has taken on added significance. FIAE recently produced an exhibition
focused on the Ukrainian avant-garde. This exhibition will continue
that work as the exhibition highlights the history and content of Ukrainian
icons and helps explain to the visitors what it is that has produced
a uniquely “Ukrainian” approach to iconography. The museums
of Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) have agreed to be the
partner organization for the exhibit. The exhibit will contain not only
icons but also other religious objects such as unique crosses, chalices,
textiles, etc. FIAE anticipates a U.S. tour for this exhibition between
2010 and 2012.
•
Robert Bateman in Russia: Remarkably gifted
as a painter and naturalist, Robert Bateman is undoubtedly the most
celebrated wildlife artist working today. Born in Toronto, Canada (1930),
Bateman and his family now reside in Salt Spring, one of the Gulf Islands
lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland. Numerous
books, art and nature conservation awards and major exhibitions attest
to his pre-eminence in his chosen field of painting. Bateman’s
knowledge of the intricate relationships that characterize the natural
word has long set him apart from other wildlife artists – he is
that rare kind of artist – one who has truly influenced the manner
in which we perceive our environment. FIAE is organizing a solo exhibit
of Robert Bateman to be presented in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia
in late 2009 – early 2010.
• Joe Beyrle:
A Story of an American Soldier:
The exhibit will tell the incredible story of a soldier of the 101st
U.S. Airborne Division who landed in Normandy, was captured and escaped
several times, finally heading East and finding Soviet troops. Private
Beyrle fought alongside the Soviet Army in the Second World War and
is believed to be the only American soldier who fought in both the U.S.
and the Russian armies during the same war. The exhibit will feature
photographs, documents, letters and other memorabilia that tell an incredible
story of true honor and commemorate American-Russian relations. The
exhibit will travel to various Russian venues, including St. Petersburg
and places of famous war battles.
• Portraits
by Nelson Shanks: Nelson Shanks is a world-renown
American painter, art historian, connoisseur, and collector. An exhibition
of Mr. Shanks’ portraits will be presented in one or two venues
in Russia, including portraits of H.R.H. Lady Diana, Margaret Thatcher
and the last portrait of Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich painted before
his death.
• Old Masters from the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts:
FIAE is currently exploring an opportunity to present an exhibit of
40-50 works of the works by Old Masters from a collection of the State
Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. Most of the works considered for the
exhibition have never traveled to the U.S. This is a collaborative project
with the Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, and the San Diego Museum of
Art.
PAST EXHIBITIONS:
•
Of Gold and Grass: Nomads of Kazakhstan:
The exhibit provided the very first opportunity for the American public
to get a personal introduction to the fascinating history and culture
of ancient peoples who lived on the territory of present day Kazakhstan.
Built around a series of phenomenal archeological discoveries in Kazakhstan,
the exhibit not only examined the sheer beauty of the pieces, but also
their role in the daily life and traditions of the region’s people.
The exhibit, developed by an outstanding team of American and Kazakh
scholars, was presented at Mingei International Museum in San Diego,
CA and was on view at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston,
TX.
•
Crossroads: Modernism in Ukraine, 1910-1930:
The Foundation partnered with the National Art Museum of Ukraine to
produce an exhibition that showcases more than 70 works by 21 artists
— each shown for the first time in the United States. The exhibition
includes works of Ukrainian avant-garde artists who are both world-famous
and relatively unknown and who created an exceptionally rich repository
of modern works influenced by Ukrainian traditions and lifestyles. The
exhibit had a successful showing at the Chicago Cultural Center between
July and October 2006 and then was presented at the Ukrainian Museum
in New York City between November 2006 and April 2007.
•
Mir Iskusstva: Russia’s Age of Elegance: This
collection of paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and works on paper by
artists affiliated with the Mir Iskusstva (World of Art) movement between
1898 and the early 1920’s, was presented in collaboration with
the State Russian Museum, to honor the 300th anniversary of the founding
of St. Petersburg. The exhibit was shown in 2006-2007 at Joslyn Art
Museum, in Omaha, NE, Weisman Museum of Art in Minneapolis, MN, and
the Princeton Art Museum, Princeton, NJ. A catalogue for the exhibition
is available from FIAE.
•
Artists and the American West (American Art for St. Petersburg’s
300th Anniversary): This selection of 80 paintings
and sculptures from seven leading American museums, which captured the
spirit and energy of the American West between 1830 and 1940. The exhibit
was shown at the Marble Palace of the State Russian Museum between April
and July 2003, and at the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow
between July and September 2003. This exhibition was part of the on-going
collaboration with Joslyn Art Museum.
•
Museum of Fine Arts Houston/Pushkin Museum/FIAE Collaborative Projects:
MFA Houston, in collaboration with the Foundation, entered a long-term
agreement with the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. The program included
a variety of projects including: (1) an exchange of individual paintings
for a six month period, beginning in February 2001; (2) an African gold
exhibition to Moscow (December 2001); (3) Old Masters, Impressionists,
and Moderns: French Masterworks from the State Pushkin Museum (December
2002 – October 2003) – a spectacular exhibition of 76 paintings
that traveled to Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the High Museum in Atlanta,
and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
• Painting
Revolution: Kandinsky, Malevich and the Russian Avant-Garde:
The exhibition presented over 80 paintings by thirty leading artists
of the Russian avant-garde, gathered from 12 regional museums in Russia
and the State Russian Museum. Since the avant-garde paintings were outlawed
by Stalin in the 1930’s, these paintings were hidden in remote
storage areas and have only returned to public view in the past few
years. Though the artists are familiar, the paintings themselves were
unseen and unknown even to frequent travelers to Russia. This exhibition
opened in Phoenix, traveled to Chicago, Portland, Minneapolis, and Miami
Beach (between April 2000 and July 2001). A catalogue of the exhibition
is available.
• Land of Myth
and Fire: Art of Ancient and Medieval Georgia:
This major exhibition of artifacts and paintings depicting over 50 centuries
of the extraordinary artistic diversity of Georgian culture, scheduled
for presentation during 1999-2001, was suspended by the Georgian government
as a result of internal political opposition. A catalogue featuring
scholarly articles, color reproductions and descriptions of the items
including Georgian gold craftsmanship from 3,000 BC, relics of early
Christian art and culture, and artifacts from the Middle Ages, is available
from FIAE.
• Beyond the
Golden Fleece: The Jews of Georgia: A complementary
exhibition to “Land of Myth and Fire” including more than
100 items depicting the unique traditions and peaceful history of the
Georgian Jewish population, ranging from the Lailashi Pentateuch dating
from the 11th century to ritual objects, textiles, manuscripts, photos,
and paintings from the late 1800’s was also suspended by the Georgian
government in August 1999. A catalogue for this exhibit is available
from FIAE.
• Novgorod
the Great: An examination of the religious, social,
political, and cultural life of Novgorod from the 14th to the 19th centuries
through a display of architecture, icons, and folk art from the period,
in collaboration with the State Russian Museum of St. Petersburg and
the State Museum of Novgorod, was produced by The Walters Art Museum
with FIAE as advisers. This exhibit opened at The Walters Art Museum
in October 2004.
• Origins of
the Russian Avant-Garde: An exploration of the
relationship of Russian folk art to the Avant-Garde, in collaboration
with the State Russian Museum of St. Petersburg, was produced and shown
by The Walters Art Museum (February – May 2003), with FIAE as
advisers.
• Tatyana Zhurkova:
This solo exhibition of decorative arts and folk art sculpted from glass,
plastic, metal, porcelain, and other bright materials was developed
in collaboration with Swashbuckler Enterprises, Inc., and shown in 2002
at the Stroganov Palace of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg,
and the Forbes Museum in New York. A catalogue of the exhibition is
available.
• Russian-American
Seminar on Museum Exchanges: The Foundation, in
collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the US Embassy in Moscow,
hosted a meeting of experts on Museum exchanges in Moscow in April 2001.
The seminar was designed to produce a set of guidelines for interested
parties on both sides who are planning museum exchanges. The seminar
addressed a wide range of issues including contacts, logistical concerns,
immunity from judicial seizure, insurance, curatorial and marketing
issues.
• Museums and
Music in Concert: This collaborative project with
ARYO, presented Russian and American young musicians in chamber music
concerts during the presentation of relevant exhibitions developed by
FIAE and other museums. Concerts were presented at the Joslyn Museum
in Omaha, and Pushkin Museum in Moscow, State Russian Museum in St.
Petersburg, and other smaller venues throughout the US and Russia.
