Curators: I. Chepkunova, M. Kostyuk, E. Zheludkova, E. Vlasova.
Schusev State Museum of Architecture proudly presents the large-scale exhibition project “AvantGardeStroy. Architectural rhytm of the Revolution”, marking the 100-year anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917.
The architectural avant-garde was born in one kettle of the raging art phenomena of the 1920’s, together with Malevich's suprematism, Mayakovsky's verses and Meyerhold's innovative statements. The original educational system developed by teachers of Vkhutemas, activities of ASNOVA (Association of new architects) and OSA (Organization of Contemporary Architects) innovative groups all contributed to the development of avant-garde. State policy, cultural revolution and collectivization led to unprecedented growth of construction in the whole country and emergence of new types of buildings, such as workers’ club, zhilkombinat, house-commune and factory-kitchen. Innovative ideas of the Soviet architects were embodied not only in real buildings of the 1920’s and 1930’s but also in utopian projects on entire cities’ reorganizations.
The bright era of architectural avant-garde of the 1920’s–1930’s is represented in works of outstanding Soviet architects and artists, such as Vesnin brothers, Ivan Leonidov, Konstantin Melnikov, Nikolai Ladovsky, Moisey Ginzburg, Ilya and Panteleimon Golosov, Vladimir Krinsky and many others. Author's graphics are complemented by models, archival video records, photos, documents as well as works of applied arts from museums of Moscow, St. Petersburg and private collections. A significant amount of objects from Schusev Museum funds are displayed for the first time.
Exposition is developed by the architectural workshop of Totan Kuzembayev whose interest in experiments with materials and form sets up a corresponding framework for courageous ideas of “pioneers of the Soviet architecture” of the 1920’s–1930’s.
One of the purposes of the project is to draw attention to the problem of preservation of the Soviet avant-garde monuments – valuable pieces of the world’s architectural heritage.
