Курские выставки Казимира Малевича: опыт реконструкции

Abstract

The article focuses on the Kursk exhibitions with the participation of Kazimir S. Malevich, the history of their organization, exhibitors, reaction of critics. Notes in the local newspapers and magazines and preserved exhibition catalogs became the main sources of the research. This documents show that Malevich began to exhibit his works at the first exhibitions of the Kursk artistic community. Critical reviews give an idea of the titles of his paintings, the impression they made, or simply record participation. These texts can supplement the information of modern researchers about some facts of the artist’s biography. The paper is the first attempt to describe art exhibitions of 1910 and 1913 in details. Special attention in the text is paid to description of exhibition of the Association of Kursk Artists in 1910, where Malevich showed for the first time some paintings of “white series”, for example Rest (Otdyh), Bathing (Kupanie) and White Horse (Belaya loshad’). The exposition of “Cubists, Futurists and Ko”, which became part of the XIV exhibition of the Association of Kursk Artists, is introduced to the scientific audience for the first time. The author tried to find out the names of the exhibitors and the number of works, based on reviews in newspapers and photographs from the archive of Oleg Radin (Kursk). Malevich brought to Kursk at least 23 paintings. Some of these works were presented at the Oslinyj Hvost exhibition in Moscow in 1912, but the artist changed the composition of his paintings.