Art Gallery
Within the enlightened circles of Odessa people have always valued impasto paintings, ironic literature, chamber music and intellectual hedonism.
From time immemorial Odessans have had a penchant for savouring the lyrical vibrations and fantastic worlds created by art. And talent flourished in the pleasure-loving atmosphere of Odessa salons.
Aleksandr Pushkin and Nikolay Gogol, Adam Mitskevich and Sholom-Aleykhem, Kiriak Kostani and Pyotr Nilus, Vasiliy Kandinskiy, David Burlyuk and Aleksandra Ekster, Ivan Bunin, Anna Akhmatova and Nikolay Gumilev, Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovskiy, Isaak Babel, Korney Chukovskiy, Yuriy Olesha, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeniy Petrov, Aleksandr Dovzhenko and Sergey Eyzenshteyn, David Oystrakh, Emil Gilels and Svyatoslav Rikhter- significant figures of worldwide fame who have left their traces in Odessa salons.
In a worldwide cultural and historical context Odessa is best embodied by the salon, i.e., the art salon: spacious, radiant, forever open to the winds of change. Here we have the uninterrupted mingling of the full palette of colours, sounds, languages, ideas, feelings... And the result is a masterpiece. And mutual understanding.
It has always been thus in Odessa: at the beginning of the last century, when Futurism and abstract art "shattered" the traditions of the "Society of South Russian Artists" in the well-known "Izdebskiy Salons"; in the second half of the twentieth century, when, as a counterbalance to monumental socialist realism the "Odessa school" of non-conformists emerged by means of exhibitions in private dwellings; and now in our times, when the progressive cultural life of our city wanders through various theatrical, literary, and art salons.
And so we decided to create our own model of the Odessa art salon: the Odessa Language Centre Art Salon.
Our art salon first opened its doors to the public on November 24, 2012. And our exhibition activities began in February of 2013.
In order to help like-minded people seek each other out and promote lively and interesting communication within our multilingual milieu, we decided to organise exhibitions for young Odessan artists, as well as projects involving recognised masters of their craft- thus creating a meeting point for different genres, bringing together tradition and innovation, the legacy of the past and the gaze into the future, faith in epic reality and the ephemeral irony of contemporary art.
Since then we have put together dozens of exhibitions, and formed close relations with artists, poets, writers, musicians, and other representatives of Odessa's creative intelligentsia. And now they are our dear friends, and regular guests at our private viewings and other events organised at the Art Salon: chamber music concerts, poetry readings, cinema clubs, and various creative improvisations.
At the Art Salon we offer drawing and painting lessons which are open to the public, as well as lectures and workshops for children.
Come pay us a visit at the Art Salon. You will be immersed in the cultural atmosphere of Odessa, the subtle relations between the history and the present, and the originality of Odessa's past, present, and future. Hope to see you!