Why I Love Minneapolis: Part Three

The Museum of Russian Art! This former church (and one-time funeral home!) built in the Spanish Mission style in the 1930s, now houses a remarkable art museum. Currently on view is a one-man show devoted to the works of Geli Korzhev. The exhibition has taken over the entire three floors of the building and includes pieces from private collections in the US and many on loan from Russian museums. This 50 year retrospective of this still-active artist is an absolute "must see" event. Korzhev's massive canvases painted in the "severe style" of "social realism" are melancholy masterpieces reflecting his life in communist Russia. The one sample shown here is from a series of Don Quixote paintings that bring to mind comparisons with certain American illustrators. The show runs through Jan 5 of 2008. There is no book devoted to the show -- yet. I'm told it should arrive near the end of the month. I'll be returning to see this again before it is gone. For more information see: www.tmora.org