Red cavalry | atractivoquenobello

Quick, brief, tiny reminder on one of last year’s best exhibitions in Madrid which closes in a couple of weeks: Red Cavalry, “Creation and Power in Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1945″.

Red Cavalry by Kazimir Malévichy - 1930

As part of the already finished Dual cultural year Spain-Russia which included an extensively list of events and exchanges between both countries (probably the Hermitage-Prado Museum painting exchanges was the most noticeable) La Casa Encendida decided to contribute the program with their late exhibition on Soviet art.

“Red Cavalry” focuses on the period of time extending from the march of the First Cavalry Army in the Russian Civil War (1918-1921) to the intervention of the Red Cavalry in the Second World War (1941-1945). The title is also a reference to two homonymous masterpieces from the same period: the collection of short stories by Isaak Babel and the famous painting by Malevich, which opens the exhibition.

Workers buildling the Magnitogorsk railway by Kuzmá Nikoláyev

Currated by Rosa Ferré, RC offers a cultural and artistic overview of Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to exploring the collaboration—voluntary and enthusiastic in some cases, imposed and forced in others—of writers, musicians, artists, theater directors and film-makers in the construction of socialism (its experiments, commitments and sufferings), it also analyses the cultural policies pursued by Lenin, Stalin and their inner circle.

Football by Yuri Pímenov - 1926

Those 3 decades was a real explosion of talent in Russia, some consider no other country has ever experienced such a concentration of talent… you’ll certainly be willing to dive deeper into each of the artists’ own careers and explore their legacy… we can’t think of a better way to discover the soviet creative power than to visit the exhibition yourself, 2 weeks left!! (oh and for those of you who understand Spanish there’s this dedicated documentary by TVE available).