Postconstructivism, or the Birth of Soviet Art Deco: Paris — New York — Moscow

To mark its tenth anniversary, the Heritage Gallery—known for exhibitions focused on the Russian diaspora of the early 20th century and design—turned to the theme of parallels between European and American Art Deco and its possible Soviet analogues.

In academic circles, the term "Soviet Art Deco" is still not officially recognized, much like "Russian Impressionism" or "Russian Expressionism." To describe the distinctive aesthetic in Soviet architecture between 1932 and 1937, art historians instead use the term Post-Constructivism—which became the title of this exhibition.

Comparing Soviet and Western artistic processes of this period is difficult due to the fundamentally different social, political, and cultural contexts. Yet in this brief window of time—between the first Five-Year Plan’s wave of industrialization and the onset of Stalinist repression—a space for "permitted luxury" began to emerge in the USSR, particularly among the nomenklatura, senior party officials, and elite circles. Jazz was allowed, as were cafés, cruises, fur coats, and high-end furniture. Architecture and design were marked by a turn toward monumentality and the use of expensive materials. French and American Art Deco models were actively studied and interpreted by Soviet artists and designers.

The exhibition brought together examples of Soviet Art Deco with counterparts from New York and Paris. It featured original drawings and interior objects from the late 1920s and 1930s by Alexander Deyneka, Vasily Shukhaev, Alexander Dmitriev, Alexander Rodchenko, and others, including several prominent Soviet architects.