The Russian Museum

This exhibition of works by four graduates of the Vera Mukhina School of Art and Industry in St Petersburg celebrates the institution's 125th birthday. The show at the Marble Palace consists of 125 works by Alexei Talaschuk, Oleg Kuznetsov, Svetlana Ponomarenko and Leonid Kolibaba. With the exception of sculptor Leonid Kolibaba, all now teach at the college. Over the years, the Vera Mukhina School of Art and Industry has combined classical traditions with an interest in new trends. In the early 1980s, the "Mukha" was a breeding-ground for a new wave of Russian avant-garde art, with various studios engaging in exciting new plastic experiments. Once branded "formalism" by Communist hardliners, the works of the four artists reflect the new era of freedom of expression and creation at the famous art college.