Past Exhibitions

The World of Russian Fairy Tales

The World of Russian Fairy Tales explores the rich traditions of old Russian fairy tales, preserved for centuries through folk art and storytelling. Colorfully painted on lacquer boxes and nesting dolls, presented in children’s books and modeled as Christmas ornaments, these fairy tales continue to amaze and amuse, and they do more than that: they preserve […] Read more

Natalya Nesterova: Artist and Academician

Natalya Nesterova (1944–2022) is a prominent Soviet and Russian artist whose works are preserved at Russia’s major museums, such as the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Nesterova was born into a cultured family of Moscow architects and graduated from the prestigious Surikov Art Institute, where she studied under […] Read more

Avant-garde Architecture of the Soviet Era: Photography by William Brumfield

In this exhibition, TMORA presents photography by William Brumfield, a renowned scholar of Russian architecture and an indefatigable photographer who created a remarkable visual archive of images to share with the American public and the world.  Compiled in numerous publications, his work is also preserved in the Library of Congress and the National Gallery of […] Read more

Monumental Soviet Paintings

This exhibition presents some of the largest paintings from the Soviet era that TMORA could unearth in private American collections. These rare canvases are inhabited by collective farmers, loggers, construction workers, and an occasional waitress or an artist’s wife, some of them tough and mighty proletarian superheroes, while others pensive and demure. The theme of […] Read more

Chemiakin’s Worlds

The exhibition Chemiakin’s Worlds brings together thirteen works by Mihail Chemiakin, unfolding a striking variety of styles and techniques. Drawn entirely from the TMORA collection, this is Minnesota’s first solo show of the prominent nonconformist artist who opposed the power of the Soviet artistic establishment and was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1971 for his experimental […] Read more