Russian Avant-Garde from the Costakis Collection at the National Gallery
The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum is hosting one of the year's most significant cultural events, a major anniversary exhibition dedicated to the Russian Avant-Garde. Titled “The World of the Avant-Garde. City, Nature, Universe, Man,” the show is the result of a collaboration with the MOMUS–Museum of Modern Art–Costakis Collection in Thessaloniki. The Russian Avant-Garde was one of the most transformative movements of the early 20th century. Amidst profound historical change, its artists experimented with radical new forms and ideas, seeking an aesthetic that would capture the spirit of modernity. This exhibition offers a rare window into their world.
The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum is hosting one of the year’s most significant cultural events, a major anniversary exhibition dedicated to the Russian Avant-Garde. Titled “The World of the Avant-Garde. City, Nature, Universe, Man,” the presentation is the fruit of a valuable collaboration between the Athens institution and the MOMUS–Museum of Modern Art–Costakis Collection in Thessaloniki, bringing an invaluable artistic treasure to the capital.
The Russian Avant-Garde, one of the most radical and multifaceted artistic movements of the early 20th century, fundamentally altered perceptions of art and its relationship to the world. Within a historical context of intense upheaval, the movement’s artists experimented with revolutionary forms and ideas, seeking a new aesthetic that would reflect the spirit of the modern era. The exhibition offers a rare glimpse into this creative ferment.
At the heart of the presentation is the legendary Costakis Collection, one of the most complete and important repositories of Russian Avant-Garde works in the world. It is the result of the passion and foresight of George Costakis, a Greek collector who lived in Moscow and rescued from oblivion hundreds of works that had been marginalised by the era's official regime. His collection is not merely an assemblage of masterpieces, but an act of cultural preservation of incalculable value.
The exhibition’s title, “City, Nature, Universe, Man,” signals a polythematic narrative that explores the central concerns of the avant-garde artists: from capturing the dynamics of the metropolis and returning to the primal forces of nature, to utopian quests for the conquest of space and the creation of a new man. The partnership between the National Gallery and MOMUS affords the Athenian public a unique opportunity to navigate this fascinating world and discover the enduring power of an art that envisioned the future.
Source: athensvoice.gr