You can get acquainted with some works of modern art, admire the paintings of Russian painters who worked in the first half of the 20th century, attend master classes by sculptors and people of other creative professions by visiting the Central House of Artists (CHA). In Moscow (and throughout Russia) it is one of the most famous exhibition centers. Let's get acquainted with its history and exposition.
History reference
Until 1923, the All-Russian Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition was at the place where the Central House of Artists is now located. After its closure, a stadium was built here, which, however, did not last long. In 1956, it was decided to place a building under this exhibition hall for the Union of Artists of the USSR. At the same time, a design was being developed for the Tretyakov Gallery. However, over time, it was decided to combine these two facilities, and in 1965 work began on a new project.
In 1979, the Central House of Artists first opened its doors to visitors.
A few words about famous people and regular events
The Central House of Artists is a multifunctional exhibition center. What does it mean? Events, exhibitions and master classes developed by representatives of various creative professions have been held here and are still taking place. Artists, sculptors, architects, photographers, art historians and even musicians gather at the Central House of Artists to exchange experiences and share inspiration with colleagues.
At different times, there were exhibitions of very famous people in the world of art. So, the works of Salvador Dali, Giorgio Morandi, Francis Bacon, Yves Saint Laurent, Cartier-Bresson, Rufino Tamayo, James Rosenquist and Robert Rauschenberg were present at the Central House of Artists.
In addition, the exhibition center hosts the annual Non / fiction Intellectual Literature Fair. The fairs “Art Moscow” and “Arch Moscow” are also held here.
Central House of Artists and Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (State Tretyakov Gallery) and the Central House of Artists are closely connected. The State Tretyakov Gallery located on the territory of the latter includes an exposition of paintings by famous Russian painters who worked in the first half of the last century. So, the exhibition presents paintings by Marc Chagall, Casimir Malevich, Sergey Kotenkov, Vladimir Favorsky, Robert Falk, Mikhail Larionov, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Pavel Korin and many others.
In the CHA there are no works of art by those recognized creators who lived and worked in the pre-revolutionary period. These paintings and sculptures can be seen in the old building of the Tretyakov Gallery, located in Lavrushinsky Lane.
Exhibitions: Central House of Artists
Exhibitions in the Central House of Artists are interesting, and their number is large. Together, they reveal the many facets of art, both contemporary and existing for many years.
About 250-300 exhibitions are held here annually. Works of art are distributed on the vast territory of the Central House of Artists, filling as many as sixty functioning galleries. At the same time, the works of not only domestic, but also foreign artists are exhibited. Despite the collapse of the USSR, cultural ties with the Baltic countries and other states located in the post-Soviet space remain inextricable. Therefore, the works of Russian artists exhibited at the Central House of Artists are often transported abroad and shown to a foreign public.
Other events
The Central House of Artists often becomes the venue for prestigious events from the fields of culture, art and advertising. So, annually Moscow Design Week, Festival of New Culture, Biennale of Architecture, "Antique Salon" are held here.
In addition, the Central House of Artists has concert halls that host creative evenings and meetings, master classes, and music events. Famous Russian bands and performers, invited guests have repeatedly performed here. Jazz parties and concerts took place within these walls.
Services provided by CHA
In addition, the Central House of Artists provides its visitors with some services. On its territory there are cafes and restaurants, bars and even billiard rooms. Here are open and shops with souvenir products: albums, postcards, photographs. In addition, you can purchase books about art, as well as special videos on discs. Small jewelry shops and handmade jewelry work here. For the convenience of guests of the Central House of Artists there is also a spacious parking lot, which at once accommodates five hundred cars.
At the Central House of Artists there are also children's studios and circles. Talented teachers help to introduce young students to art and show them how to find beauty even in the most ordinary, everyday events.
But all this could no longer be …
In 2008, a project was signed for the construction of a new building designed to accommodate the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery. It was planned that this would be a fifteen-story house erected in the shape of a giant orange. According to the project, the “fruit” was supposed to be divided into five “segments”, each of which would contain not only the exhibition halls of the gallery, but also offices, hotel rooms and luxury residential apartments. In fact, this project was commercial.
But this “Orange” was never built. Almost immediately after the adoption of the project, the Moscow public expressed its negative opinion about the upcoming changes. A Public Council for Cultural Centers was even created - an organization whose first official business was to protect the Central House of Artists from demolition. The Council included painters, architects, sculptors and people of other creative professions.
Then, in 2008, everything seemed to work out, and materials appeared in the press that “Orange” would not appear on the site of the Central House of Artists. But soon another project was proposed to restructure the existing exhibition complex. It was planned to erect separate buildings for the Central House of Artists and the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as to lay a conference room on the site of the old building of impressive size.
At the end of the same year 2008, a hearing was held in the Public Chamber on issues related to the redevelopment of the CHA. The staff of the State Tretyakov Gallery addressed an open letter to Vladimir Medvedev and Vladimir Putin.
In February 2009, a demonstration was held at the entrance to Gorky Park against the demolition of the Central House of Artists. A hearing was held in the Central House of Artists, which was attended by several hundred people. Of these, less than ten approved the construction project of a new exhibition complex.
Unfortunately, the question was not decided in favor of the existing building even then. The chief architect of the capital, Alexander Kuzmin, explained that there is no free money in the city budget for the reconstruction of the Central House of Artists, which means that it would be advisable to give the project to development to solvent investors. It was also not possible to put the CHA building under protection as an object of cultural heritage, since 40 years have not yet passed since its construction.
