New York-- On January 14 2015, Gallery Shchukin will host the opening of the Gleb Pospelov Hall dedicated to the memory of one of the main Russian experts on Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova – Gleb Pospelov. Previously not exhibited paintings and drawings from the early part of Mikhail Larionov’s career will be on view January 15 – February 28, 2015.
Gleb Pospelov passed away on October 27, 2014 in Moscow at the age of 84. His loyalty to and passion for the works of Mikhail Larionov made the representation of Larionov’s art more colorful and full. Pospelov was famous for writing the monograph The Jack of Diamonds in the 1970s. It was an explosive work-- the “jacks” were interpreted as extremely leftist violators of all possible rules. No one wanted to have any connections to them. The Soviet publishing houses refused to publish the book. At last, the book was published in Russian in 1990. In 1987, Pospelov was sent by Soviet government to Paris to acquire Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova’s collection, which, according to the will of Larionov’s second wife Alexandra Tomilina, were to return to Russia. Because of Prospelov’s efforts, a book with all of the Larionov’s works—the fullest compilation-- was printed in 2005.
The opening of the Gleb Pospelov Hall will take place on Wednesday, January 14 at 6 p.m. at Shchukin Gallery at 524 W. 19th St., New York, NY 10011.
The Gleb Pospelov Hall will include several interpretations of Larionov’s Resting Soldier of 1912 executed in the manner of neo-primitivism. As Pospelov himself notes, the canvas Soldier with Pipe is closely connected with Larionov’s 1912 work Venus exhibited in the Russian Museum. Venus shows a lubok nude Venus whereas Soldier with Pipe has a figure of a soldier with a pipe in his hands, next to which is the figure of a horse and two trees. Both works have the same manner, warm and brown backgrounds and the signature “Mikhail” written in big red letters. As well, Larionov’s early collages and previously not exhibited pochoirs will be presented on January 14, including his 1929 portfolio, Voyage en Turqie, which was one of the items returned to Russia from Paris.
Gleb Pospelov was a rare art historian who wrote about works of art, the meaning of the widest artistic processes gathered from those images and understanding what role time plays. “I think for artists, specifically in the 19th and early 20th century, the priority was not so much addressing stylistic questions as much as questions of sensing the world and feeling time” – Gleb Pospelov.