Art of the Second Half of the 20th Century:From Pablo Picasso to Vladimir Yankilevsky

The exhibition Art of the Second Half of the 20th Century: From Pablo Picasso to Vladimir Yankilevsky combines works by Western and Russian artists of this period for the first time ever in Russia. The show features works donated by collectors and masters who participated in exhibitions at the Russian Museum.

A representative list of artists includes the most prominent and well-known figures: Pablo Picasso, Joseph Beuys, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann, George Segal, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Anselm Kiefer, Jörg Immendorff, Jonathan Borofsky, Jeff Koons, Ilya Kabakov, and others.

The exhibition reflects key art movements and strategies showing the best works to introduce the public to Pop Art (Ruins by Roy Lichtenstein, Portrait of Peter Ludwig by Andy Warhol, Banana Splits and Glaces en Degustation by Claes Oldenburg, and others), Hyperrealism (Unadilla Diner by Ralph Goings), German Neo-Expressionism (Bottle and Eagle by Georg Baselitz, Style: Eurydice by Markus Lüpertz, Chairs by Jörg Immendorff, and Big Iron Fist Germany by Anselm Kiefer), Neoclassicism (Madonna by Claudio Bravo), and Conceptual Art (The Garden by Ilya Kabakov).

The collection demonstrates the emergence of new types and genres, methods and technologies in contemporary art. Thus, Jonathan Borofsky’s Man in Space at 2589394 represents a painting created on canvas of an unusual form, A. R. Penck’s Snow-White is a transforming soft sculpture, Tom Wesselmann’s Monica is a monumental steel drawing made with a laser, Igor Makarevich’s The Cupboard of Ilya and Vladimir Yankilevsky’s Triptych No. 14. Self-Portrait (Dedicated to My Father) are assemblages that combine real household items (so-called “found objects”) and paintings.

Two major phenomena of Western art are shown at the exhibition most vividly and comprehensively. These are American Pop Art, the most radical movement of the 1960s, and German Neo-Expressionism, which brought back the relevance of painting in the 1980s, as well as a highly debatable phenomenon of the “German” in German art. The show widely presents abstraction that emerged in the early 20th century and still has not lost its relevance. Special attention is paid to Russian artists, mainly from the circle of Moscow Conceptualists, and Eastern European masters, whose works are rarely found in national art collections.

Pablo Picasso

Big Heads. 1969. Oil on canvas

Andy Warhol

Portrait of Peter Ludwig. 1980. Silkscreen on canvas

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol

Untitled. 1984. Oil and acrylic on canvas

Georg Baselitz

Bottle and Eagle. Diptych. 1977-1978. Oil on plywood

Cy Twombly

Untitled. 1968. Oil on canvas

Roy Lichtenstein

Ruins. 1965. Acrylic on canvas

Erik Bulatov

Melting Clouds. 1982-1987. Oil on canvas

Igor Makarevich

Portrait of Ivan Chuikov. 1981. Oil on wood

Igor Makarevich

The Golden Space of Bulatov (Portrait of Erik Bulatov). 1988. Alcyd resin and particle board

Robert Rauschenberg

The Turkish Bath of Ingres. 1967. Silkscreen, white, screen painting, paper, cardboard and collage

Dmitry Prigov

Malevich’s Square. 1989. Left part. Indian ink and ballpoint pen on newspaper

Dmitry Prigov

Malevich’s Square. 1989. Right  part. Indian ink and ballpoint pen on newspaper

Jorg Immendorff

The Nose. 2003. Bronze

Anselm Kiefer

Big Iron Fist Germany. 1979. Oil and acrylic on canvas

Ilya Kabakov

The Garden. Diptych. 1978. Enamel on fiberboard

Claes Oldenburg

Banana Splits and Glaces en Degustation. 1964. Object. Painted and lacquered plaster, glazed ceramic and strainless steel; in a showcase

Tom Wesselmann

Steel Drawing with Fruit, Flowers and Monica. 1986. Enamel and laser-cut steel

Richard Artschwager

ICS – Computer Center. 1969. Acrylic and graphite on celotex

Ralph Goings

Unadilla Diner. 1977. Oil on canvas

Jeff Koons

Cherubs. Part 1. 1991. Wood (?), levkas, oil (?), painting and gilding

Jasper Johns

Shade. 1956. Object. Encaustic, wood, metal and canvas

Viktor Pivovarov

Long-long Arm. 1972. Enamel on fiberboard

Vladimir Yankilevsky

Triptych No. 14. Self-Portrait (Dedicated to my Father). Object. 1987. Mixed media