Harriman Institute at Columbia University
420 West 118th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10027
RECEPTION & PANEL DISCUSSION: October 8, 6:00 PM
This reception and panel discussion will commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Suprematism, 95 - of UNOVIS (Affirmers of the New Art) and the 110th Anniversary of Lazar Khidekel (1904-1986), the Suprematist artist, visionary architect, pioneer of environmentalism and founding member of the UNOVIS group.
The exhibition includes twenty four images in print form - paintings, drawings, period photographs, UNOVIS documents, and publications, including the legendary AERO, Khidekel’s handmade book from 1920, considered as one of the first ecological manifestos of the modern era. This rich set of material comes from the Khidekel Archive, one of the most comprehensive archives of the Russian avant-garde.
Moderated by Dr. Regina Khidekel, the discussion will explore different aspects of Suprematism including the UNOVIS educational system, the Suprematist painting and its development in the works of the younger “UNOVIS” generation. Also to be examined Lazar Khidekel's Suprematist painting, his role in the transition of Suprematism from a 2-dimensional art form to a movement which found its expression in real life - visible today in architecture, the processes of urbanization, and futuristic yet environmentally conscious city planning of the time.
Speakers: Dr. Regina Khidekel, art critic, curator and president of the Lazar Khidekel Society, director of Russian - American Cultural Center in New York - York (RACC), author of numerous publications on the history of Russian avant-garde.
Slide presentation about life and work of Lazar Khidekel.
Dr. Masha Chlenova, "The Endpoint of Painting: UNOVIS and the Transformation of the Lived Experience"
Anna Bokov, Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University, will talk about the pioneering educational systems at UNOVIS and Vkhutemas.
Dr. Xenia Vytuleva, “Decoding Modernities”
A documentary film Lazar Khidekel, Kanal Kultura, 2011, and animation Khidekel Element – Suprematism for Humanity from the ongoing The 14th International Architecture Biennale in Venice, will also be shown.
