Painting in Pre-Glasnost Russia

When we think of Soviet Art, we think of the propaganda posters and the figurative heroic paintings and sculpture that glorified the Soviet leaders. That kind of Social Realism dominated official art in Russia, starting in the 1930’s. But artists found ways to pursue their own styles in secret. They organized private, apartment viewings of their work, and then finally, near the end of the Cold War, were able to bring their paintings out in the open. Pamela Renner talked to the painters Vitaly Komar and Grisha Bruskin about their transformation from subversives to international stars.