2024-04-16
On 20 October 2017, the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent presented the exhibition "Russian Modernism", consisting of works in the museum's permanent collection as well as objects on loan allegedly by representatives of the Russian avant-garde, including Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Tatlin and El Lissitzky.
The lack of an available history of the loaned objects has caused concern among the art community. The works are believed to have come from the Dieleghem Foundation, founded by the Brussels-based art collector Igor Toporkovsky. The scarcity of information regarding the exhibition, as well as the lack of an official exhibition catalogue, makes the presentation of the achievements of the Russian avant-garde function as a controversial undertaking. The works in question have never before been included in the publications of scholarly publications, and the stories of their sale are also unknown.
Among the artworks on display is a chest whose authorship is attributed to Malevich, but any historical sources that could provide confirmation of the artist's activity in a similar trend are unknown. Catherine de Zegher, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, is planning further exhibitions in the coming year containing the works presented in the 'Russian Modernism' exhibition enriched with further artworks from Toporkovsky's collection and selected European museums.