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The exhibition ‘Photomontage. Corrected Truth’ consists of 61 works that trace the history of photomontage from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The project was created in cooperation with the BÉTON Centre for Visual Culture (Moscow), whose collection provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the works of iconic Russian and foreign authors.
The exposition can be divided into two main chronological blocks: historical (the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century) and contemporary (from the beginning of the 21st century to 2023).
The first part of the exposition presents several examples of pre-revolutionary montage and works by Soviet authors. The latter are mainly marked by the agitation-political direction, within which several main themes can be distinguished: statements about the world political situation, often filled with irony (A. Zhitomirsky. ‘Goebbels’, 1942; “Obsolete Transport”, 1962); utopian images of the achievements of the Soviet state (E. Lisitsky, M. Alpert. “Worker and Peasant”, 1932) and the political life of the country (A. Lavrov. “USSR. All to the elections on 26 June”, 1938); depictions of tragic historical and contemporary events (A. Zhitomirsky. ‘Greek Tragedy’, 1960s-1970s; A. Vinogradov, V. Khabarov. ‘Chernobyl’, 1986; E. Khaldei. ‘Deer Yasha. Polar Region’, 1941, etc.).
A separate block presents photomontage created for printing publications, primarily illustrations for magazines and books. The exhibition includes reproductions reflecting two different thematic orientations: informational and propaganda (the magazine ‘USSR at the Construction Site’ (1931-1941), which became a clear example of the active development of photomontage in the USSR in the 1930s) and playful, addressed to a children’s audience (P. Lopatin’s story ‘Travelling by Electric Lamp’).
The end of the century is represented by artists with very different approaches to the use of photomontage – such as Francisco Infante-Arana with his signature combination of geometric abstraction and landscape photography; Sergei Bugaev (Africa) with fragments of the installation ‘MIR: Made in 20th century’, presented at the Venice Biennale in 1999; Boris Orlov, combining symbols and attributes from different imperial cultures with organic forms.
The second part of the exposition includes works by contemporary authors, mostly Russian, who in the space of their works offer other variants of reality, combining allusions to general cultural themes and references to the history of world art with the technical possibilities of the 21st century. One of the presented objects is a digital painting by the AES+F art group from the project ‘The Feast of Trimalchion’, which is the author’s interpretation of a chapter of the novel ‘Satyricon’ by the ancient Roman poet Petronius Arbiter. Three works by French artist Gerard Rancinan, which refer the viewer to the history of European art, combining it with the social problems of contemporary society, attract attention. The exhibition will also feature large-format photomontages by Valery and Natalia Cherkashin from the ‘Global Underground’ series, dedicated to exploring the cultural and psychological peculiarities of certain countries by depicting underground transport systems during the period of their creation.
Exhibition
Photomontage. Corrected Truth 12+
30 September – 3 December 2023
Hermitage-Ural, Large Exhibition Hall / Vaynera, 11
Opening hours
Tue – Sun from 11:00 to 20:00
(cash desk from 10:30 to 19:30)
Mon: day off
Visit – by ticket
300 rub. – admission
100 rub. – concessionary
The exhibition ‘Photomontage. Corrected Truth’ consists of 61 works that trace the history of photomontage from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The project was created in cooperation with the BÉTON Centre for Visual Culture (Moscow), whose collection provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the works of iconic Russian and foreign authors.
The exposition can be divided into two main chronological blocks: historical (the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century) and contemporary (from the beginning of the 21st century to 2023).
The first part of the exposition presents several examples of pre-revolutionary montage and works by Soviet authors. The latter are mainly marked by the agitation-political direction, within which several main themes can be distinguished: statements about the world political situation, often filled with irony (A. Zhitomirsky. ‘Goebbels’, 1942; “Obsolete Transport”, 1962); utopian images of the achievements of the Soviet state (E. Lisitsky, M. Alpert. “Worker and Peasant”, 1932) and the political life of the country (A. Lavrov. “USSR. All to the elections on 26 June”, 1938); depictions of tragic historical and contemporary events (A. Zhitomirsky. ‘Greek Tragedy’, 1960s-1970s; A. Vinogradov, V. Khabarov. ‘Chernobyl’, 1986; E. Khaldei. ‘Deer Yasha. Polar Region’, 1941, etc.).
A separate block presents photomontage created for printing publications, primarily illustrations for magazines and books. The exhibition includes reproductions reflecting two different thematic orientations: informational and propaganda (the magazine ‘USSR at the Construction Site’ (1931-1941), which became a clear example of the active development of photomontage in the USSR in the 1930s) and playful, addressed to a children’s audience (P. Lopatin’s story ‘Travelling by Electric Lamp’).
The end of the century is represented by artists with very different approaches to the use of photomontage – such as Francisco Infante-Arana with his signature combination of geometric abstraction and landscape photography; Sergei Bugaev (Africa) with fragments of the installation ‘MIR: Made in 20th century’, presented at the Venice Biennale in 1999; Boris Orlov, combining symbols and attributes from different imperial cultures with organic forms.
The second part of the exposition includes works by contemporary authors, mostly Russian, who in the space of their works offer other variants of reality, combining allusions to general cultural themes and references to the history of world art with the technical possibilities of the 21st century. One of the presented objects is a digital painting by the AES+F art group from the project ‘The Feast of Trimalchion’, which is the author’s interpretation of a chapter of the novel ‘Satyricon’ by the ancient Roman poet Petronius Arbiter. Three works by French artist Gerard Rancinan, which refer the viewer to the history of European art, combining it with the social problems of contemporary society, attract attention. The exhibition will also feature large-format photomontages by Valery and Natalia Cherkashin from the ‘Global Underground’ series, dedicated to exploring the cultural and psychological peculiarities of certain countries by depicting underground transport systems during the period of their creation.
Exhibition
Photomontage. Corrected Truth 12+
30 September – 3 December 2023
Hermitage-Ural, Large Exhibition Hall / Vaynera, 11
Opening hours
Tue – Sun from 11:00 to 20:00
(cash desk from 10:30 to 19:30)
Mon: day off
Visit – by ticket
300 rub. – admission
100 rub. – concessionary
