Previews

Crown of the Earth

Crown of Earth is the name of the current exhibition at the Moscow Gallery of Classical Photography. It puts on display eighty works by acclaimed Japanese authors who are participating in the Japanese Society of Photographers. It was founded in 1952 and annually holds a contest for young and promising authors. The Moscow exhibition presents those masters whose works have been awarded prizes over the past 5 years. The show is opened by Ken Kitano, winner at the recent Paris Photo contest. His cycle of photographs is called: “Our Face” and renders the globalized world in a series of portraits. The choice for the series comes from an attempt to represent the conflicting unity of the plural idea of “our” and the singular form “face.” His other newest project entitled “one day” is a landscape series,

February 1-15, 12:00-21:00 except Mondays and Tuesdays Gallery of Classical Photography Savvinskaya embankment, 23. Building 1.

in which he captures in a single long exposure a full day in various places: both common like a school classroom as well as historical sites in Japan. And through this process he investigates the identity of photography, accumulating moments of time and highlighting regularities. Among other participants we should also mention Naoki Ishikawa, Takayuki Maekawa, Yasuhiro Ogawa, Shintaro Sato, Toshihiro Yashiro and Kazutoshi Yoshimura. Whatever we mean by globalization, the way it is interpreted by authors from different cultures only proves how different these views are and how original they will always be.

Henry Moore, the canon of modern sculpture

British sculptor, Henry Moore, is considered to be one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century. His works are in the collections of numerous museums in the world. And his monumental sculptures decorate the squares in front of the Houses of Parliament in London and the UNESCO building in Paris. The Kremlin Museums present an exhibition of Moore’s works in the Assumption Belfry and One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch’s Palace inside the Kremlin, the exhibition space of the museum. Moore’s creative legacy will be presented in his sculptures, working models he made for his sculptures, bronze statuettes and his designs for tapestries. The exhibits have been drawn from the Henry Moore Foundation, the British Council, the Tate Gallery and also

February 22-May 2012 Open: 11:00-17:00 daily except Thursdays Kremlin Museums

several private collectors. His best masterpieces have been selected to reflect the themes and images that inspired the sculptor most. His earliest sculptures were influenced by primitive cultures, but in his artistic evolution he became more and more attached to surrealism and abstract forms. Among the exhibits is the Madonna and Child, the model of the original sculpture from Church of St. Matthew, Northampton, one of the artist’s own most favourite pieces of art.

“Play. Light.”

The technique of etching has been known in Europe since the early 16th century. A design inscribed by acid on a copper plate, transferred to a piece of paper becomes a print. Many artists and painters tried the technique when they turned to graphics. One of the greatest masters of pure etching was Rembrandt (1606-1669). The master preferred etching to engraving and produced over 300 etchings with unsurpassed virtuosity, and proved that this is a perfect medium to properly render light, air, and space. Yet it is no easy task. And nowadays only a few artists even approach it. Svetlana Lanshakova is a Russian artist who finds inspiration in this complicated process. Her exhibition is called “Play. Light.” This is a series of vedutas of Moscow which highlight its tiny alleys and yards. The artist captures the right angle of light and shadow so that even some ordinary places look like postcards. In almost monochromatic prints, rich emotions and impressions are rendered through thinnest gradations of dark and light.