The Soviet State that emerged from the 1917 Russian Revolution fostered a new visual language aimed at building a new society based on the socialist ideal. The decade and a half that followed the Revolution was a period of intense activity and innovation in the field of the arts, particularly amongst architects, marked by the use of pure geometric forms. The new State required new types of building, from commune houses, clubs and sports facilities for the victorious proletariat, factories and power stations in order to bring ambitious plans for industrialisation to fruition, and operations centres from which to implement State policy and to broadcast propaganda, as well as such outstanding monuments as Lenin’s Mausoleum.
Building the Revolution. Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935 illustrates one of the most exceptional periods in the history of architecture and the visual arts, one that is reflected in the engagement of such constructivist artists as Lyubov Popova and Alexander Rodchenko and and Russian architects like Konstantin Melnikov, Moisei Ginzburg and Alexander Vesnin, as well as the European architects Le Corbusier and Mendelsohn. The exhibition features some 230 works, including models, artworks (paintings and drawings) and photographs, featuring both vintage prints from the 1920s and 30s and contemporary images by the British photographer Richard Pare. Building the Revolution. Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935, is organised by the Royal Academy of Arts of London in cooperation with ”la Caixa” Social Outreach Programmes and the SMCA-Costakis Collection of Thessaloniki. The exhibition forms part of the Official Programme of PhotoEspaña 2011 and of the 2011 Dual Year Programme from Spain to Russia and from Russia to Spain.
Richard Pare is an English photographer known for his work documenting Soviet modernist architecture. He was born in Portsmouth, England, on 20 January 1948. He studied graphic design and photography at Winchester and Ravensbourne College of Art before attending the Art Institute of Chicago. He received a Master of Fine Arts from Chicago in 1973.
Building the Revolution. Soviet Art and Architecture, 1915-1935
Through September 18
CaixaForum Madrid
Paseo del Prado, 36
