The Awe of Ordinary Labors: 20th-Century Paintings from Ukraine

Throughout most of the 20th century, the government of the Soviet Union promoted an official style of art: socialist realism. That style promoted Communist values by showing working people’s virtues and struggles. Navigating the margins of artistic freedom, certain artists responded to this ideological imperative by creating works that complied on the surface but also communicated subtle subversive statements and allowed for alternative interpretations. The 33 works by Ukrainian painters included in this exhibition come from the Maniichuk-Brady Collection and the Parker Collection at the Georgia Museum of Art and were created ca. 1930 to 1980. These artists manifested national pride by rendering images that celebrated the labors of their compatriots as well as the history and the landscape of their country. The works abound in visual quotations and art historical references.