Zimmerli's Focus on Soviet Era Art Continues

The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers is pleased to welcome American critic, curator, and artist Robert Storr for the presentation “Soviet Nonconformist Art: A View from the U.S.A.,” on Sunday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. The lecture is devoted to the topic of Soviet nonconformist and Russian contemporary art. 

Admission is free for Rutgers faculty, staff, and students (with valid ID); $5 for Zimmerli members; and $10 general admission. Reservations are required for this highly anticipated event. Please RSVP by calling (848) 932-6766 or email education@zimmerli.rutgers.edu. 

Storr has served as Professor of Painting and Dean of the School of Art at Yale University since 2006. He was curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1990 to 2002, and was chosen commissioner of the 2007 Venice Biennial – the first American invited to that position. He has been a contributing editor at “Art in America” since 1981 and writes frequently for “Artforum,” “Parkett,” “Art Press” (Paris), and “Frieze” (London). Storr has written numerous catalogs, articles, and books, notably about such artists as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, and Philip Guston. Among his many honors, Storr has received awards from the American Chapter of the International Association of Art Critics, Independent Curators International, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art, as well as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres medal from the French Ministry of Culture.

The program is presented in conjunction with the new exhibition “Leonid Sokov: Ironic Objects,” the first major United States solo exhibition for Sokov (born 1941), one of the leading figures in Soviet underground and Russian-American contemporary art. A survey of his career from the 1960s to 2000, this exhibition highlights themes and developments in his art. A trademark of the artist’s work is the multi-layered visual and verbal pun that draws upon figures in popular culture from both communist Russia and capitalist America.

The exhibition and related programs are supported by the Avenir Foundation Endowment Fund. Additional support has been provided by the Thickman Family Foundation and donors to the Zimmerli’s Annual Exhibition Fund: Sustainer/Voorhees Family Endowment; Supporter/Charles and Caryl Sills and Jerome A. Yavitz Charitable Foundation, Inc. — Stephen Cypen, President.

The Zimmerli Art Museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street at George Street on the College Avenue campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The Zimmerli is a short walk from the NJ Transit train station in New Brunswick, midway between New York City and Philadelphia.

Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., and the first Wednesday of each month (except August), 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays, major holidays, and the month of August.

Admission is $6 for adults; $5 for 65 and over; and free for museum members, children under 18, and Rutgers students, faculty, and staff (with ID). Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month. For more information, call (848) 932-7237 or visit the museum’s website: www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu.