The State Tretyakov Gallery and the Moscow Design Museum present the exhibition “PEACE! FRIENDSHIP! DESIGN! The history of Russian industrial design.” This is the debut exhibition of the Moscow Design Museum of in the West wing of the New Tretyakov Gallery. The space of the West Wing has been associated with design and architecture for many years. When the Central House of Artists operated here, there were held exhibitions, competitions and other events related to these types of artistic activities. The Tretyakov Gallery plans to continue the tradition.
Project of the sound system “Fregat” SP-005. Designer: N. SLesarev. Lenigrad. The 1980s. Gouache and air brush on paper. From the collection of the designer’s family
Despite the fact that design is an important part of material culture, up to this point, the history of the Russian design has not been fully represented in any museum. For the first time, there is an exhibition area where exhibitions of Russian and foreign design objects will be regularly held and educational activities will be carried on.
Design has always been closely associated with visual art. The pioneers who had a huge impact on the development of design in our country and abroad were avant-garde artists, whose works are exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery. In the USSR, designers were called artist-constructors, prioritizing the word “artist”. And over the past few years, the line between design and contemporary art has almost disappeared. Therefore, the Moscow Design Museum blends seamlessly into the Tretyakov Gallery.
Photo-sniper. Production Model. The 1960s. From the archive of Moscow Design Museum
The opening of the permanent exhibition is scheduled for the summer of 2020. It will present the history of Russian design from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present days and will consist of three sections: avant-garde, Soviet design, and modern design. The first section will show the originals and replicas of the best works of constructivist artists – A. Rodchenko, V. Tatlin, G. Klutsis, El Lissitzky, V. Stepanova, L. Popova, A. Ekster and many others. The second section will include the most significant works of Soviet designers, such as Y. Solovyov, S. Mirzoyan, I. Zaitsev, V. Runge, M. Lukyanov, as well as projects of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Aesthetics (VNIITE), an art and design factory Soyuzprodoformlenie, Senezh Studio, Research Institute for Toys, special art and design bureaus. The works of Y. Rassadin, V. Chaika, A. Matveev, V. Pirozhkov, I. Gurovich, V. Andreyanova and other contemporary Russian designers, many of which have already gained worldwide recognition, will be presented in the third section of the exhibition.
Electric samovar Sputnik. Designer: K.M. Sobakin. Suksunsky metal factory, 1976. Metal, plastic. Moscow Design Museum.
The first exhibition of the Moscow Design Museum “WORLD! FRIENDSHIP! DESIGN! The History of Russian Industrial Design” is dedicated to the development of industrial design in Russia in the 1950–2020s. The exposition shows more than 300 design objects and consists of 11 sections: aviation and astronautics, automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles, water transport, heavy equipment, tools and equipment, medical equipment, electronics, optics, sports, and household items.
At the exhibition you will see designs made at Soviet factories and plants: models of airplanes and vehicles, snowmobiles, prototypes of radio equipment, photo and film equipment, household appliances, toys and many other works. The unique showpieces include a model of a small cup of the Olympic flame, designed for the 1980 Olympics by the leading artist of the Tupolev Design Bureau A. Sergeyev – one of the authors of the interior of the TU-144 aircraft; an electric samovar “Sputnik” (designer K. Sobakin); a three-legged chair, which design was based on the same principles as the design of the “Simple Satellite-1”; a vase from a sleeve produced at one of the Ural plants; a PD-47 parachute, used in 1955 by the astronaut Y. Gagarin to jump from a height of 800 meters. Modern Russian design is represented by the latest developments and futuristic projects: mock-ups of airplanes and concept cars, a Kalashnikov motorcycle and four-wheeler, innovative medical equipment and communication tools.
