Union of Youth. Russian Avant-Garde 1909 - 1914

Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Encyclopedia of Russian Avant-Garde and State Russian Museum present the exhibition Union of Youth, dedicated to the artistic association of the key avant-garde artists of the early XX century. The exhibition will include works by Kazimir Malevich, Olga Rozanova, Elena Guro, Mikhail Matyushin, Vladimir Tatlin, Pavel Filonov, Joseph Shkolnik, Mikhail Larionov and others, displaying about 80 artworks by 35 artists.  On July, 4, 2019, the exhibition will open in Saint Petersburg, to reopen then in Moscow on October, 23, 2019, in the Jewish Museum, thus encompassing two major Russian cities.  In Moscow, the general sponsor of the exhibition is VTB Bank. Partners of the exhibition are Public Joint Stock Company Transneft and Charity Foundation SAFMAR founded by Mikhail Gutseriyev, patron and businessman.

Union of Youth was the first officially registered association of the avant-garde artists. The union from Saint Petersburg was created six months before The Jack of Diamonds was established in Moscow. From 1910 to 1914 the association organised seven exhibitions presenting a wide range of artistic ideas and styles from Symbolism to Cubo-Futurism.

The Union of Youth was a revolution in Russian art. Its impact on the subsequent styles and movements of the Avant-Garde will be charted through artworks and archive materials.

Among others the following masterpieces will be displayed in Moscow: Perfected Portrait of Ivan Kliun by Kazimir Malevich, Feast of Kings by Pavel Filonov, Rayonist Landscape by Mikhail Larionov. The exhibition will also include unknown Avant-Garde artworks from the collections of the Russian Museum, Russian and Latvian fine art galleries and private collections. The works will be provided by 15 museums from Russia and abroad, and three private collections.

More than 80 artists had displayed their works throughout the existence of the Union of Youth. The key artists of the Russian Avant-Garde were strongly influenced by their participation in the activities of the Union, among them – Mikhail Larionov, Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Tatlin and others. Union of Youth became the platform of communication and idea exchange for artists. A series of discussions on modern art and staged performances, including Victory Over the Sun, attracted wide public attention. Almost all members of the Union had played an important role in the development of the avant-garde art before the WWI, but many were unheralded. Not only Rozanova, Malevich and Matyushin were part of the Union, but also G. Verkhovsky, Ilya Mashkov, Auguste Baillayre, Savely Schleifer, Sofiya Baudouin-de-Courtenay and other artists little known by today’s public. Their work will reclaim its place in the artistic chronicle of the Russian Avant-Garde.

Curated by: Irina Arskaya, Andrey Sarabyanov with the participation of Alisa Liubimova and Natalia Kozyreva.

Tickets on sale from September 2019.

Kazimir Malevich

The Portrait of Iran Klun Refined, 1913

The State Russian Museum

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