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Vasily Maslov. Labor Commune Avant-garde
Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre
2014
2014
In the autumn of 2013, a unique monumental mural dating from 1930−1931 was discovered in Korolyov, a city near Moscow. The work was created by the unjustly forgotten monumental artist Vasily Maslov—a former homeless youth, commune member, and painter of extraordinary vision. Hidden beneath wallpaper in the ruins of the partially burned down and abandoned Stroyburo building, part of the Bolshevo Labor Commune complex, the discovery of the mural caused a sensation.
Thanks to this discovery, the Stroyburo building received temporary protected status and was included on the state heritage list (the first mural was removed from the wall, restored, and placed in a museum; however, two other murals were destroyed in the fire and the subsequent demolition of the building in 2015—despite its official heritage designation).
This avant-garde mural, dedicated to the themes of industrialization and electrification, resurfaced and with it, the name of artist. Vasily Maslov was a graphic artist, vivid painter, and a man with an extraordinary yet turbulent life. Once a street orphan, Maslov rode across the country hidden in freight boxes beneath trains, he studied at several regional art schools, frequented the country’s major museums, and enrolled at VHUTEMAS in Moscow (Higher Art and Technical Studios), and lived and worked in the Bolshevo Labor Commune. In 1937, he was accused of participating in a terrorist organization and was executed, like many other members and leaders of the Сommune. He was only 31 years old.
Seventy-seven years later, his works were exhibited for the first time: drawings from memories of port life during the NEP era, portraits, sketches, designs for monumental paintings, and magazine graphics from the collections of the Korolyov Historical Museum. The exhibition also featured a 1:1 scale replica of the mural from the Stroyburo building, as well as an original surviving fragment.
Maslov’s art was presented alongside books, magazines, and films dedicated to the history and cultural legacy of the Bolshevo Labor Commune.
Thanks to this discovery, the Stroyburo building received temporary protected status and was included on the state heritage list (the first mural was removed from the wall, restored, and placed in a museum; however, two other murals were destroyed in the fire and the subsequent demolition of the building in 2015—despite its official heritage designation).
This avant-garde mural, dedicated to the themes of industrialization and electrification, resurfaced and with it, the name of artist. Vasily Maslov was a graphic artist, vivid painter, and a man with an extraordinary yet turbulent life. Once a street orphan, Maslov rode across the country hidden in freight boxes beneath trains, he studied at several regional art schools, frequented the country’s major museums, and enrolled at VHUTEMAS in Moscow (Higher Art and Technical Studios), and lived and worked in the Bolshevo Labor Commune. In 1937, he was accused of participating in a terrorist organization and was executed, like many other members and leaders of the Сommune. He was only 31 years old.
Seventy-seven years later, his works were exhibited for the first time: drawings from memories of port life during the NEP era, portraits, sketches, designs for monumental paintings, and magazine graphics from the collections of the Korolyov Historical Museum. The exhibition also featured a 1:1 scale replica of the mural from the Stroyburo building, as well as an original surviving fragment.
Maslov’s art was presented alongside books, magazines, and films dedicated to the history and cultural legacy of the Bolshevo Labor Commune.
Curators
Aleksandra Selivanova
Nadezhda Plungyan
Exhibition Design
Stepan Lipgart
Aleksandra Selivanova
Nadezhda Plungyan
Exhibition Design
Stepan Lipgart
The catalogue includes images of Vasily Maslov’s artworks, scholarly articles on the artist’s work, and a concise history of the renowned labor commune in Bolshevo, near Moscow.
Moscow
16 pp
2014
16 pp
2014
Vasiliy Maslov. Labor Commune Avant-garde. Graphics from the collection of the Korolyov Historical Museum
Nadezhda Plungyan, Aleksey Petukhov, Aleksandra Selivanova
