Around the Square from the series The Christmas Present

On 23 December 2005 an exhibition opened which forms part of the series The Christmas Present and features a unique collection of Russian Avant-garde art as it appeared in porcelain. The exhibition has been organized by the Museum of Porcelain department of the State Hermitage, with the participation of the Imperial Porcelain Factory OJSC. It presents around 250 works of porcelain and 15 sketches (1918 - mid-1930's).

"We are presenting to the public the very rarest part of the collection - Suprematist porcelain," Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky explains. Besides the Suprematists, other facets of the Russian Avant-Garde are also displayed: works by Kandinsky, Petrov-Vodkin, Chekhonin and other creative leaders of the Revolutionary age.

The exhibition Around the Square is dedicated to an unusual period in the history of 20th century design and presents works of porcelain which were created after the Revolution of 1917 in the world-renowned State (formerly Imperial) Porcelain Factory in Petrograd. This unique exhibition will acquaint visitors with the achievements of a group of radical Avant-Gardå artists (Futurists, Cubists and especially with the abstract art of the Suprematist artists from Kazimir Malevish's group). These pieces fall within the broad context of Russian propaganda porcelain.

The majority of items on display come from the Museum of the Porcelain Factory, which now is a new department of the State Hermitage created from the historic collection of the former Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. The exhibition presents design sketches and allows visitors to compare the author's intent and its embodiment in porcelain (works by M.M. Adamovich, R.F. Filde). Works by modern artists of the factory (now called the Imperial Porcelain Factory OJSC)also attract a great deal of interest

The originator of the concept for the traditional Christmas exhibition is T.V. Kudryavtseva, director of the Museum of the Porcelain Factory department of the State Hermitage. The curator of the exhibition is T.V. Kumzerova from the Museum of the Porcelain Factory department, State Hermitage.

A scholarly illustrated catalogue to the exhibition has been issued by the Publishing House of the State Hermitage. The authors of articles in the catalogue are T.V. Kudryavtseva and T.V. Kumzerova. Introductory articles have been written by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage, and G.V. Tsvetkova, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Imperial Porcelain Factory OJSC.

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At the ceremony of the open of the exhibition

G.V. Tsvetkova, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Imperial Porcelain Factory OJSC

Inna Olevskaya, artist of the Imperial Porcelain Factory OJSC

At the exhibition