Thursday, April 10, 2014 Page B1
SECTION
LIVING
B
WHAT’S ON? Q DINING GUIDE Q WHAT’S COOKING? Q REAL ESTATE Q CLASSIFIED Q SERVICE GUIDE Q BUSINESS CARD DIRECTORY
CLOCKWISE from top right, Vladimir Gavrilov, ‘Uglich, The Church of Iowan;’ Pavel Kuznetsov, ‘Evening Landscape;’ Peter Shlikov, ‘The Ararat Plain;’ Igor Popov, ‘Kizhi, The Cathedral (Preobrazhensky Church).’
When painting flourished back in the U.S.S.R. sshah@riverdalepress.com
Q
uick: how many painters from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics can you name?
If you had the same kind of American education as the author of this article, your answer is probably zero. A small yet sublime show at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale provides a delightful introduction to not-quitehousehold names, from Armenia’s Aram Kupetsian to Ukraine’s Igor Popov along with a range of Russian renegades including Vladimir Gavrilov, Pavel Kuznetsov and Peter Shlikov. The story behind the landscape paintings acquired by the former executive director of the Hebrew Home, which strongly integrates the fine arts into programs for its elderly residents,
adds poignancy to the beautiful works. As assistant curator Emily O’Learly explained, the decade-long cultural “thaw” following Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953 saw freer modernist styles replace the humorless propaganda the autocrat had demanded in all of the arts. Years of cultural isolation from the world outside the U.S.S.R.’s borders created a delayed reaction to the Impressionist movement in particular. Mr. Shlikov’s 1962 Ararat Plain, which could almost be mistaken for a landscape by Cézanne, is one example. The Russian Jewish painter’s blurred strokes and meditative approach evoke the French master’s iconic 1887 Mont Saint-Victoire, which has a highly similar composition. Likewise, Mr. Gavrilov’s 1963 Uglich, The Church of Iowan looks like something Monet would have painted if he ever could have pulled himself away from Notre-Dame Cathedral and
other French views. But as much fun as it is to guess the influences behind the works at the Hebrew Home’s exhibit, the game does not do justice to the artists’ achievements. Ararat Plain is one of several paintings at the show where the Caucasian country serves as canvas for the Soviet painters. Ms. O’Leary said because artistic restrictions lingered during the thaw, which ended with Nikita Kruschev’s 1964 fall from power, painters had to search for freedom away from Moscow. She explained that they found it in places like Armenia and Ukraine, where they could justify their use of bright colors and experimental techniques by saying that it reflected the indigenous cultures — lip service to imperialist prejudices at its finest. Ararat Plain, whose subject was part of Armenia centuries before the U.S.S.R. invaded the country, is full of pleasing contrasts. Mr. Shlikov painted
plant life in the foreground with vibrant oranges and reds, while Mount Ararat itself towers in noble shades of purple and blue in the background. The slope of the mountain and the tall linearity of some trees lend a syncopated rhythm to the piece. Mr. Popov’s Kizhi, The Cathedral takes an unusual slant on a well-known monument. The artist keeps much of the structure out of view and lets strange lighting play along the church’s slats and onion-shaped domes. High above, billowing clouds evoke memories of an Orthodox God in the far reaches of an officially atheist land. Mr. Kuznetsov’s Evening Landscape seems to take us back to the Russian heartland. His deep greens and browns create a subdued atmosphere in an empty forest. But it is also easy to imagine a hunting party from War and Peace shattering the stillness as it clamors across the hilly scene. The Hebrew Home’s former Execu-
tive Director Jacob Reingold acquired all 14 of the paintings in the current show from London’s Grosvenor Gallery, which a brochure described as a onetime top venue for eastern European artists to show their work in the west. The exhibit represents an ongoing effort to educate people about major Soviet painters. About a year ago, the Hebrew Home showed Soviet painters’ depictions of urban life in Under the Iron Curtain: Modern Art From the Soviet Bloc. Who knows? As New York City’s biggest museums exhaust the possibilities of exhibiting famous Impressionist painters, maybe Soviet artists featured in the Hebrew Home’s massive collection will start to get wider play. The Politics of Paint: Landscape Painting in the Soviet Union, 1953-1964 runs at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale until April 20. Admission is free to the public daily from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
4663 PALISADE AVENUE
555 KAPPOCK STREET
HUDSON RIVER VIEW
RIVER VIEW
3 BEDROOM / 2 BATH
1 BEDROOM / 1 BATH
$919K. WEB#8659691
$199K. WEB#9735118
SUSAN GOLDY 718.549.4116 EXT. 210
LOLA LIVINGSTON 718.878.1728
LEE MOSKOF 718.549.4116 EXT. 215
693290
By Shant Shahrigian