Alexander Kibasov, a specialist from the State Russian Museum, offers an examination of what constituted the art of late socialism. Of course, the field has its popular subjects – conceptualism, the groundbreaking architecture of the 1970s, and monumental mosaics about cosmos. But what if we take all these experiments out of the brackets and look at what is commonly referred to as the “official” project – “official” painting?

The history of “official” art of the last decades of socialism has been unlucky. It is difficult to approach this topic, difficult to find intonation suitable for its discussion. Nevertheless, this lecture will discuss how the painting of the 1960s and 1980s relates to the most important aspects of the cultural logic of that period. The lecturer will discuss such phenomena as the severe style, retrospective art and hyperrealism.

Duration: 1.5 hours