The Heritage Gallery of Moscow unveils another gem of an exhibition dedicated to Soviet interior design. For the first time, the gallery is staging an exhibition of unique interior items of the Soviet Empire Style, which evolved through the mid-1930s, the Stalinist era and the mid-1950s. Marked by opulence and monumentality, the favoured aesthetic of the Soviet Empire combined elements of the Baroque, neo-classicism and Art Deco. This state-sanctioned style rejected the avant garde in favour of classical notions of beauty and grandeur, signalling a return to romanticised tropes of Soviet/Russian history.

The inhumanity of Stalin’s totalitarian ambitions has been well documented, but it is also crucial to note that artists continued to create and develop exquisite objects despite his repressive cultural policies. This exhibition presents examples of furniture and decorative pieces made from wood and bronze that once adorned public spaces such as the Hotel Moskva and the Red Army Theatre in Moscow. These pieces are rare because Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin’s successor, was a man of ascetic tastes who declared the Soviet style to be “excessive embellishment”. As a result, many of these pieces fell out of favour. The Heritage Gallery aims to revive interest in these elegant furniture pieces.

The items will show at Design Miami/Basel 2013 from 11 to 16 June.

Heritage Gallery, 127051 Moscow, Petrovka 20/1.

Photos courtesy of Heritage Gallery