In Tatyana Kopnina's painting Girls (1960), two youngsters, presumably sisters, lie on a bed looking at a picture book. One is in a red pinafore and pigtails, while the other, older, wears a lavender dress and lies on her stomach. Beyond them, one can see a vase of flowers on a round tabletop. It's a scene of everyday intimacy – of real life.
It is also part of a remarkable collection of more than 120 works of Soviet art on display in Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace. Drawn from the Art Russe collection of the Russian billionaire Andrey Filatov, the exhibition, titled War and Peace, presents examples of the kind of painting and sculpture produced in the USSR from the 1930s onwards.
In the style known as Socialist Realism, these works extolled the beauty and value of life under socialism: scenes of domestic cosiness, workers at the factory, women in kerchiefs harvesting wheat and soldiers returning home from the front.
The effect includes its fair share of the anodyne and twee – but at its best, it communicates real enthusiasm and joy.
“It is the art I grew up with,” says Filatov, “And it is very dear to me.”
He began buying art in earnest about five years ago, and is one of the foremost collectors of Socialist Realism. The paintings and sculpture on show in the capital includes some of the style’s best-known pieces – the artwork that Russian schoolchildren see reproduced in their textbooks.
One can see, for example, the plaster prototype of Vera Mukhina's public monument, Worker and Kolkhoz Woman (1937), in which a factory worker and farmer together hold aloft up a hammer and sickle, eyes fixed on the future.
Produced for the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris, the full-sized, 24.5-metre stainless steel version was moved to Moscow after the fair, and it has stood outside the Russian Exhibition Centre ever since, absent only for an extended restoration period between 2003 and 2009. The prototype on show at Emirates Palace was handmade by the artist.
A number of versions of Socialist Realist works were often created, and Filatov’s collection is notable not only for its breadth, but also for the fact that he was able to collect such originals.
War and Peace also includes the famous painting Low Marks Again (1948-49), a Norman Rockwell-esque scene in which a schoolboy in a too-big overcoat breaks the news about his poor grades to his mother and siblings.
Elena Filatov, Andrey’s wife, explained that scholars have identified the version on show as the original.
Look closely and you can see that a painting over the boy’s shoulder is blurry and sketchy – in the version on display in Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery, painted later, the picture has been fully worked up.
Narratives of modern art tend to tell a story of a shift from realism into abstraction, the style of the avant-garde. But Russian art moved differently from the trajectory in the West.
After breakthroughs in formalism in the 1910s and 20s with Suprematism and Constructivism, by the 1930s abstraction was labelled bourgeois.
The Russian academy moved back towards representational work, art showing “typical characters under typical circumstances” – in the words of Friedrich Engels – often associated with the movement.
The paintings had a strong propagandistic element, glimpsed in the heroic postures adopted by Mukhina’s workers and images of Stalin and Lenin, and in the impression they gave of a happy, comfortable Soviet life, even under the USSR’s impoverished circumstances.
The paintings also served to unite the far-flung confederation. Feoror Sychkov's 1936-37 work At the Market shows a young Ukrainian girl holding up some apples for a young man to buy – the picture illustrates the shared Soviet promise, from Kiev to Moscow.
Because of this association with the party line, Socialist Realism has long been ignored by the art establishment. It holds a nostalgic fascination, though, for Russians such as Filatov who grew up with the works, and it has recently been re-examined for its merits of popular representation.
The rare opportunity to see such a large collection in the style throws up some surprises. Kopnina's Girls, for example, shows a bourgeois interior much more reminiscent of 19th-century French painting than Socialist Realism – and across the work, there is more range in brushwork style (and skill) than is commonly assumed.
Indeed, the work of this period isn’t particularly well-known outside of Russia, Filatov says, and this is part of his motivation for showing it abroad.
“It is great to be able to show it in Abu Dhabi,” he says, “which is becoming such a cultural centre, with the opening of the new museums.”
He hopes to use his collection, which also includes contemporary work, as loans and touring exhibitions to help promote Russian art internationally.
“There are so many tourists who will come and be introduced to it,” he says. “You can’t spend all your time on the beach.”
• War and Peace, a collection of Soviet art, is at Emirates Palace until December 10, open from 10am to 10pm each day. Entry is free. For more details, visit www.artrusse.uk
artslife@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Sour%20Grapes
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