Sculpture

Russian artists, or as they are usually referred to “artists of Russian origin" - those who left Russia for good at the beginning ofthe 20 th century, and won recognition and fame abroad and whose artworks are represented in almost all world-famous museum collections - no doubt constitute an invaluable part of the Russian cultural heritage. Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973), a renowned sculptor of the 20th century, is no exception. His bright extraordinary creative activity started in France and ended in the USA. In 1928, the outstanding Russian art critic Abram Efros called Lipchitz's sculptural work "the highest and most dominant point of the Russian intrusion" into the art of the West. Lipchitz became one of the most notable adepts and advocates of Cubism and he persistently applied Cubist principles in his works, gaining enthusiastic recognition from both connoisseurs and the general public. Over time Lipchitz drew back from the movement, though in his monumental and easel works continued to visualize expressive deformations of organic natural forms, boldly shifting flat planes, resulting in a structural angularity; later he came to a looser spatial play. Lipchitz's first solo exhibition was held in 1920 and many have followed since then. After his grand exhibition at New York’s MOMA, retrospective exhibitions have been organized all over the world - at the Tate Gallery in London, in many European cities, as well as in Israel and the USA. Lipchitz's sculptures are eyecatching attractions of many a square and public building, and the artist was decorated with special awards from a number of academies and universities. In 1946 Lipchitz was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honour. Lipchitz's heritage is carefully preserved in many museums, some of which are world famous, while others are of regional importance, like the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, Arizona, situated close to the Mexican border. The author of the article, devoted to the unique collection of the sculptor’s work, is Dr. Lisa Fischman, Chief Curator of the University of Arizona Museum of Art.

Richard Serra is undeniably a great name in contemporary art. Each of his installations or exhibitions is considered a major artistic event. Serra’s sculpture is associated with a certain laconism in form, as well as minimal plastic means aimed to reach the maximum of expression. His multi-tone self-supporting steel installations are the result of a new sculptural mentality and reveal a novel semantics in sculpture.

It is significant that the year of the 150th anniversary of the Tretyakov Gallery has witnessed the realization of the long-planned "Russian" cultural project of Intesa Bank, as the exhibition "Wood Sculpture from the Russian Territories, from Ancient Times to the 19th Century" opened in Italy. The Tretyakov Gallery is displaying the best part of its collection there for the first time.

A solo exhibition of the Moscow-based sculptor Viktor Korneev, an art project distinguished by its elaborate conceptual framework and original execution, runs at the Tretyakov Gallery’s Engineering wing from September 1 to October 30 2011.

CHARLES DE GAULLE WROTE IN HIS "WAR MEMOIRS": "WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE THROUGH THE WORLD'S MOST REMARKABLE PLACES, I FEEL THAT THE GLORY OF THE PAST... RECONNECTS TO THAT OF THE PRESENT... IT FEELS LIKE HISTORY IS SMILING BACK AT US TODAY THROUGH ITS STONES AND CITY SQUARES." FOR 2,000 YEARS THE CITY OF PARIS HAS UNDERGONE A CONTINUOUS EVOLUTION FROM ROMAN SETTLEMENT TO MODERN WORLD CAPITAL, AND THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY THE CITY HAS REMAINED LOYAL TO ITS PRINCIPLES. REJECTING LACK OF TALENT AT EVERY STAGE, IT ACCUMULATES THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND EXCITING NEW FEATURES, GIVING PREFERENCE TO PERFECT ORDER AND BRILLIANCE. THE NEW MONUMENT BY ZURAB TSERETELI NEAR NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL IN PARIS IS FURTHER PROOF OF SUCH A TRADITION THAT HAS TURNED THE CITY INTO THE ARTISTIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. WHAT IS PARTICULARLY STRIKING IS THE PERFECT WAY THE NEW SCULPTURE FITS WITHIN THE FAMOUS ARCHITECTURAL ENSEMBLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.