Nahum Tschacbasov: a Retrospective

NEW YORK - June 3, 2013 - PRLog -- NEW YORK – The Russian American Foundation is pleased to present a retrospective of work by Russian-born American artist Nahum Tschacbasov (1899-1984). Curated by Marina Kovalyov, the exhibition includes over fifty paintings and will be on view June 1-16, 2013 at the National Arts Club, as part of the 11th Annual Russian Heritage Month®, a celebration of events and exhibits highlighting Russian culture.

Inspired by myriad influences during the course of his life—from modernism to the Byzantine art—Tschacbasov's work was in a constant state of metamorphosis, as he developed new techniques and mined new perspectives. The works represented in this exhibition reflect his development as an artist, his sense of experimentation, and a variety of styles--from classical to abstract surrealistic. While his paintings of the 1930s explored the social and political preoccupations of the times (The Ploughers, 1936; Boat People, 1938) by the mid-1940s, the artist’s focus had shifted to the deeply personal subjects—dreams, imagination, psychological insights, all of them fundamentally affecting his art.  Tschacbasov’s mature works demonstrate a powerful personal iconography in which the inner workings of the psyche are revealed as myth and metaphor-at once personal and universal (City Dream, 1945; Sleeping Girl With Bouquet, 1949). Tschacbasov’s paintings from the late 1950’s until his death are the freshest and most exciting part of his long career. Included in this retrospective are some of the artist’s most expressive works (The House of Death, 1963; The Metamorphosis, 1961) as well as his rarely exhibited works of the 1970s and 1980s.

“Jewish by blood, born in a part of Russia which later became Azerbaijan, American by upbringing, Tschacbasov created the kind of art the beauty of which is truly universal.” says Marina Kovalyov.

About the Russian American Foundation

Marina Kovalyov and her daughter Rina Kirshner founded the Russian American Foundation (RAF) in 1997. Its mission is to encourage interest in and understanding of Russian heritage among all communities in the US, as well as to promote reciprocal interest in and understanding of American heritage among global Russian-speaking communities.

Among some of the nationally and internationally acclaimed RAF’s initiatives are:  Annual Russian Heritage Month ®, Annual Battles on Ice ® Hockey Matches, Annual Bolshoi Ballet Academy Youth Programs, Moscow Arts Festival on Broadway and many more.

The Honorable Michael A. McFaul, US Ambassador to Moscow, recently stated, "The Russian American Foundation's continued contributions to cultural, educational, and sports programs in the United States and Russia help foster greater understanding between the people of the United States and the Russian Federation.”

Press Contact

Dalia Stoniene / Dan Schwartz
Susan Grant Lewin Associates
212.947.4557
dalia@susangrantlewin.com  / dan@susangrantlewin.com