In December 2026, the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve will open the exhibition, «Time of Searches and Discoveries: Decorative Arts in the USSR, Second Half of the 1950s–1980s.»
About the Exhibition
The exhibition will introduce visitors to the most culturally and artistically significant works from the representative collection of the GMZ «Tsaritsyno.»The main research goal of the project is to present domestic original decorative art from the second half of the 20th century as an independent phenomenon and a systemic product of the Soviet era, examining it through the lens of the «social contract» between the artist and the state.
1. Ryazanova S.G. Decorative Plastic. «My Muses.» 1970s. 2. Wilson I.S. Tapestry «The Artist’s Labor.» 1975.
Artist and State
In exchange for loyalty to the state and its ideology, the artist received professional status, access to material and financial resources, exhibition venues, and the technological infrastructure of artistic funds. The high regard for the work of applied artists, the favorable conditions for their practice, and significant public interest cultivated an environment for continuous creative exploration and the flourishing of original decorative arts.
1. Rotanova N.S. Decorative Composition. «Self-Portrait.» 1989. 2. Gushchina N.E. Decorative Vase. «Cat.» 1986.
1. Malotkov V. A. Sculpture. «Marina Tsvetaeva.» 1980. 2. Kvitsnitskaya N. B. Mask. 1976.
New Decorative Arts
The main part of the exhibition presents the conceptual foundations and major achievements of authorial decorative art as a self-sufficient, intellectually profound artistic phenomenon. One of the primary directions of creative exploration was the move away from the historical applied function of the decorative object and the assertion of decorative art’s equal standing with other plastic and visual arts, such as sculpture and painting.
1. Taratuta E. I. Decorative Sculpture. «Fertility.» 1982. 2. Yasnetsov V. K. Decorative Set «Roses.» 1972.
New materials and forms
A. Voronkova. Tapestry. «Energy»
The search for new artistic solutions led to the emergence of new forms of plastic arts—glass plastic and ceramic plastic—as well as a spatial «new tapestry» in tapestry art.
1. Ladur A.K. Panno. «Girls with Headbands.» 1968. 2. Veselov P.P. Decorative Sculpture from the «Giraffes» Composition. 1950.
Form, Color, and Texture
In the search for new formal solutions, artists deeply engaged with the artwork’s material, texture, color, and form. This led to the transformation of the subject matter and the birth of a renewed artistic language.
Alexandrova-Roslavleva. Sculpture. «The Girlfriends.» 1970s–1980s. 1950s–1960s
S. M. Beskinskaya. Decorative vase, from the «Skomorokhi» composition. 1969.