Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art presents an exhibition by Leonid Baranov, inviting the viewers to a ‘sculptural theatre’ whose leading actors are Russian and global cultural luminaries
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Sculptural portraits of Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Lomonosov, William Shakespeare, Peter the Great, and other geniuses of the past
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A large-scale project celebrating the oeuvre of the lauded Soviet and Russian artist who completely transformed the notions of sculpture as a form of cultural dialogue
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A theatrical space in which sculpture readily invokes history
The exhibition of works by Leonid Baranov is a large-scale project celebrating the artist who possessed a unique expressive voice and completely transformed the notions of sculpture as a form of cultural dialogue. He is a legendary figure among the connoisseurs of plastic arts and poetical metaphysics alike. His oeuvre bridges the archaic and the modern, the Ancient Greek idea of genius and the romantic mythology of the artist as a spiritual medium between our world and the Absolute. He communed with the bygone epochs, and they spoke to him in the voices of the greats.
The show transforms museum space into a theatrical one, offering the viewer an opportunity to experience a ‘sculptural theatre.’ Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, and other Russian and global cultural luminaries literally come to life here, rightfully becoming its leading actors.
Baranov’s sculptures resemble theatrical mise-en-scènes in which the tilt of the head or gesture becomes a truly dramatic event. Here, Pushkin can ‘bump’ into Gogol, while Dostoevsky’s ‘ascension’ is portrayed not as an allusion, but as a living act of metaphysical play. Far from being static, all these visions are engaged in an animated dialogue, both with each other and with us, contemporary viewers.
The project immerses the viewer in a space where sculpture readily invokes history, colour breathes life into plaster, and geniuses of the past become full-fledged counterparts in a present-day conversation on the nature of inspiration and creative obsession.
Russian and Soviet artist, recognised master of monumental sculpture Leonid Baranov mainly focused on historical portraiture, exploring the potential of new expressiveness existing on the cusp of refined intellectualism and popular perception. Born on 30 December 1943 in Moscow, in 1968, he graduated from the School of Sculpture of the Vasily Surikov Moscow State Institute of Art (class of Nikolai Tomsky under the instruction of Prof. Mikhail Baburin and Prof. Dmitry Zhilinsky). Exhibiting his art in various national and international shows since 1966, Baranov was a member of the Artists’ Union of the USSR (since 1969) and the Artists’ Union of Russia (since 1992), Moscow Artists Union, and Moscow Sculptors Association; Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Arts, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and holder of the honorary title of Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation. The artist spent his time between Moscow and the village of Starye Omutishchi, Vladimir Oblast (home to his studio museum since 2010), and passed away on 7 July 2022.
