The Socialist Realism exhibition includes one room devoted to the icons of Lenin and Stalin which were once ubiquitous in Russia and its satellites. Among them is an eight-metre high reproduction of the statue of Stalin that once stood in Budapest's Parade Square. The copy, which is still much smaller than the original, is on loan from a film studio on the outskirts of Budapest.
A room of paintings and murals greets visitors with a reproduction of an enormous piece by Alexander Gerasimov on loan from the Military History Institute and Museum.
The SocArt exhibition, called Is Lenin Returning to the Grave?, is based on a recent exhibition in Paris, entitled SocArt - Political Art in Russia. The exhibition in Paris caused a scandal when Russia's culture minister Aleksandr Sokolov personally saw to it that some of the pieces - pieces he called "the shame of Russia" - were removed.
The pieces removed from the exhibition in Paris will be included in the one in Debrecen, and the curator of SocArt, Andrey Yerofeyev, will also be in charge of the exhibition in Debrecen.
Yerofeyev was recently removed from his position as the director of the Tretyakov Gallery's modern art museum.
The art style SocArt combines the heroic pathos of Socialist Realism with humour. The easy-to-understand art has met opposition from people offended by its sarcasm.
The exhibitions run from June 26 until October 5.
Author: Virág Vida / Photo: MODEM
