Concerning the Spiritual Tradition in Russian Art April 26, 2011

'Concerning the Spiritual Tradition in Russian Art: Selections from the Kolodzei Art Foundation' examines the intersections of artistic and religious consciousness that explore spiritual expression in the Soviet Union and Russia. This exhibition confronts the historical collisions of the sacred and secular, the conflict of government censorship and freedom of expression under the Communist regime. During the Soviet era, such works of religious subject matter were often banned from public display, and in some cases, they were even confiscated. This selection of 50 works by 35 artists, spanning the 1960s to the present, illuminates the progression of various artistic and political movements in Russia. Featured artists from the 1960s and 1970s participated in significant, unofficial exhibitions that challenged the official, approved style of Socialist Realism. Artworks from the 1980s to the present reflect the emergence of a free and democratic Russia, after the era of Perestroika. 'Concerning the Spiritual Tradition in Russian Art' offers the viewers a glimpse into artistic traditions of Russian artists who, despite oppression, fervently re-appropriated sacred imagery as a way of conveying rebellious expression.