"...ism"s

Russian Futurism, by Yevgenia Petrova (Author). Palace Editions, 2007. Hardcover, 240 p.

The subject of Russian Futurism is familiar only to experts, and based on highly limited material. No other movement appears to have evoked quite the same public response, having, as it does, social roots. Referred to as 'the art of the future' by the Russian press in 1908 - a year before the official appearance of the word - this book focuses on the works of some forty-two artistic 'revolutionaries' featuring vibrant examples of their work, which serve to inspire the imagination. The work of David Burliuk - central and original figure in the Russian Futurist movement - is featured alongside more than 200 colour reproductions of paintings by more than forty Futurists. Accompanied by critical and historical essays, a chronicle of events and artists' biographies. (editorial review from Amazon)

The Artist as Producer: Russian Constructivism in Revolution, by Maria Gough. University of California Press, 2005. Hardcover, 268 pages. English.

"The Artist as Producer confronts the problem of making a politics with art. Gough's balanced rigor in mining obscure archives on the one hand, while performing brilliant readings of recalcitrant artworks on the other gives her account of Constructivism's Utopian promise and less-than-Utopian outcome great texture. She has produced something very rare: an art-historical study that not only adds to our knowledge but captures the intense poignancy of modern art's serious ambition to undertake a revolution of--and with--form." (David Joselit, Professor, History of Art, Yale University)

Russian Modernism between East and West: Natal'ia Goncharova and the Moscow Avant-Garde by Jane Ashton Sharp. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Hardcover, 360 pages. English.

"A complex and erudite book, providing extensive primary material...The physical qualities of presentation and formal presentation of the text, notes, bibliography, index, and the copious illustrations are exemplary, and the book is a substantial contribution to scholarship on the Russian avant-garde."
(Alison Hilton, Slavic Review)

Abstraction in Russia by Yevgenia Petrova. Palace Editions, 2006. Hardcover, 812 pages. English.

Abstraction has long been acknowledged to be one of the key concepts in 20th century art. The artists of the Russian avant-garde, above all Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich, made a leading contribution to the birth and establishment of this exciting movement. This publication is the first attempt to bring together the wide range of materials reflecting the various paths trodden by artists working in non-objective forms in the 20th century. The album is based largely on the classical avant-garde paintings now in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, home to the world's most representative collection of the art of this period. Works created in the second half of the 20th century have also been contributed by the Tretyakov Gallery, many of the artists themselves and several private collectors. Artists of various generations are represented by some 1,200 works in two beautifully designed volumes. (editorial review at Amazon)