This talk will explore the background to Uitz’s interest in Russian icons. Although icons and avant-garde art seem at first glance to belong to completely different worlds, there are remarkable and sustained connections between them at many different levels. In fact, icon painting can be said to have catalysed the evolution of modern art in Russia, providing precedents for many of the developments that formed part of that process. Béla Uitz was introduced to icon painting by the Russian artist and designer Alexander Rodchenko who he met in Moscow in 1921. The Iconanalysis paintings that Uitz produced in 1921–22 demonstrate the impact that this ancient art had on the development of the avant-garde more clearly than any other works of the period. Having reduced several icons to their compositional essences, Uitz developed his own visual language which he then used as a foundation for a unique series of etchings based on his own revolutionary narrative. 

Andrew Spira studied at the Courtauld Institute, London. Following several years as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, he was Programme Director at Christie’s Education (both in London). His book The Avant-Garde Icon: Russian Avant-Garde Art and the Icon Painting Tradition, on the relationship between Russian icons and Russian Avant-Garde art, was published in 2008. His other publications include two books on the relationship between art and personal identity, from the Middle Ages to the present day (2020) and Foreshadowed: Malevich’s ‘Black Square’ and its Precursors (2022).

Admission fee: 1500 HUF

Registration: kassakmuzeum@pim.hu