Eastern Europe's Outsider Art Gains Western Recognition
Art brut from Eastern Europe, which faced significant suppression during communist rule, is now receiving global acclaim. In Russia, it is referred to as 'outsider art,' while in the Czech Republic, the term 'brut' is used, first showcased in Prague in 1999 following the Velvet Revolution. This movement, influenced by spiritualist traditions from the 1870s, left a mark on artists such as Bohumil Kubišta and Jan Zrzavý. Key figures include Miroslav Tichý, Eva Droppova, Maria Wnek, and Nikifor. Major exhibitions have featured Adolf Wölfli (2012) and the Prinzhorn collection (2009). The Museum of Everything will be hosted at Garage Moscow in 2013. Vladimir Gavrilov's Inye collection in Yaroslavl highlights artists like Almazov, with brut artists seen as transforming despair into artistic expression while challenging moral values and Soviet authority.
Key facts
- Art brut from Eastern Europe was suppressed under communist regimes that promoted folk and naive art.
- The first art brut exhibition in Prague was in 1999, ten years after the Velvet Revolution.
- Spiritualist movements in Bohemia and Moravia since the 1870s influenced avant-garde artists like Kubišta and Zrzavý.
- Jan Švankmajer collects mediumistic drawings and prioritizes imagination over art.
- Exhibition 'Rudolf Steiner and Contemporary Art' was held at DOX Prague in 2011.
- Notable artists include Miroslav Tichý, Eva Droppova, Edmund Monsiel, and Nikifor.
- Major shows: Adolf Wölfli (2012), Prinzhorn collection (2009), abcd (2006) at Prague City Gallery.
- The Museum of Everything exhibition is scheduled at Garage Moscow in 2013.
- Vladimir Gavrilov's Inye collection in Yaroslavl includes artists like Almazov and Mikhail Kalyakin.
- Western recognition began in 1996 with Edmund Monsiel at the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne.
- Alexandre Lobanov was exhibited in Paris in 2003 and at the Collection de l'Art Brut in 2007.
- Zdenek Kosek showed at abcd (2005) and Palais de Tokyo (2012).
- Janko Domsic exhibited at abcd in 2005.
- Vojislav Jakic was in 'Outsiders' at the Serbian Cultural Centre in Paris (2013).
- Hungarian psychiatric works shown in 'Hongrie à la folie' (2011) and Polish brut at art)&(marges (2013).
- Artists Domsic and Kosek use apocalyptic imagery and symbols of power to critique moral ideals and Soviet power.
Entities
Artists
- Bohumil Kubišta
- Jan Zrzavý
- Josef Váchal
- Jan Švankmajer
- Miroslav Tichý
- Eva Droppova
- Maria Wnek
- Edmund Monsiel
- Nikifor
- Krzysztof Krauze
- Adolf Wölfli
- Vladimir Gavrilov
- Almazov (Nikolai Vorobiov)
- Mikhail Kalyakin
- Vasili Romanenko
- Fiodor Smirnov
- Irene Jakab
- Jan Krížek
- Alexandre Lobanov
- Zdenek Kosek
- Janko Domsic
- Vojislav Jakic
- Malgorzata Szaefer
- Alena Nádvorníková
- Léa Bismuth
- Béatrice Steiner
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Institutions
- Collection de l'Art Brut (Lausanne)
- Halle Saint Pierre (Paris)
- abcd (Paris)
- Galerie Messine (Paris)
- Palais de Tokyo (Paris)
- Centre culturel de Serbie (Paris)
- Musée d'art naïf et marginal de Jagodina
- Musée art)&(marges (Brussels)
- Galerie Tak (Poznan)
- Galerie municipale de Prague
- Centre d'art contemporain DOX (Prague)
- Galerie nationale (Prague)
- Museum of Everything
- Centre pour la culture contemporaine Garage (Moscow)
- Musée d'Outsider Art (Moscow)
- Inye collection (Yaroslavl)
- Collection Prinzhorn
- Collection Reuter de Pécs
Locations
- Eastern Europe
- Russia
- Czech Republic
- Prague
- Slovakia
- Bratislava
- Poland
- Hungary
- Pécs
- Croatia
- Serbia
- Jagodina
- Yaroslavl
- Moscow
- Lausanne
- Paris
- Brussels
- Poznan
- Bohemia
- Moravia
Sources
- artpress —