71. The Museum of Nonconformist Art
The Museum of Nonconformist Art is the centerpiece of the "Art Center and Free Culture Fellowship" at Pushkinskaya 10. It seems like the "anti-Hermitage" in content, presentation, and environment: not well known, not recently renovated, a bit shabby, and featuring art that will not appear in glossy coffee-table books. Still, it has a certain charm and is interesting for some solid collections as well as being one of the more obscure institutions in town.
This museum is definitely off the beaten path. The entrance is in a courtyard, so it's quite literally not on a path (road) at all. The museum is spread across multiple spaces - small galleries in two seven-story buildings, plus loosely affiliated galleries in two additional buildings. Wall murals and sculptures are randomly located on the landings between each floor in several of the buildings. The architecture has a 1960s vibe, and I don't believe anything in the complex has been renovated in roughly half a century. It's tough to say what exactly some of the unmarked doors lead to, but none appear to be residential areas.
The theme of the main gallery is "rejected works". This is interpreted in various ways by the featured artists, but the most common ideas fit into several categories: works that were excluded from public view for "technical, common, ideological, aesthetical, conceptual, or any other reasons". Primarily, either works that were censored under the Soviets or that have been refused for exhibition by other museums. The focus of the smaller gallery is nonconformist paintings from Leningrad underground art groups in 1950s and '60s Leningrad. The sculptures did not seem to have a common thread. Other points of interest in the arts complex (that were not technically part of the museum) included a painter's open studio and a commercial gallery. Several additional spaces were closed to allow for exhibit installation.
I had the museum mostly to myself on a Friday evening. There were a few other visitors in some of the spaces, all of them locals by appearance. I would be surprised if many foreign tourists show up here. That's a shame, because this museum is a great way to see a wider variety of art styles and subject matter than at most other institutions in town.
This museum is definitely off the beaten path. The entrance is in a courtyard, so it's quite literally not on a path (road) at all. The museum is spread across multiple spaces - small galleries in two seven-story buildings, plus loosely affiliated galleries in two additional buildings. Wall murals and sculptures are randomly located on the landings between each floor in several of the buildings. The architecture has a 1960s vibe, and I don't believe anything in the complex has been renovated in roughly half a century. It's tough to say what exactly some of the unmarked doors lead to, but none appear to be residential areas.
The theme of the main gallery is "rejected works". This is interpreted in various ways by the featured artists, but the most common ideas fit into several categories: works that were excluded from public view for "technical, common, ideological, aesthetical, conceptual, or any other reasons". Primarily, either works that were censored under the Soviets or that have been refused for exhibition by other museums. The focus of the smaller gallery is nonconformist paintings from Leningrad underground art groups in 1950s and '60s Leningrad. The sculptures did not seem to have a common thread. Other points of interest in the arts complex (that were not technically part of the museum) included a painter's open studio and a commercial gallery. Several additional spaces were closed to allow for exhibit installation.
I had the museum mostly to myself on a Friday evening. There were a few other visitors in some of the spaces, all of them locals by appearance. I would be surprised if many foreign tourists show up here. That's a shame, because this museum is a great way to see a wider variety of art styles and subject matter than at most other institutions in town.
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