Utopia Ltd
While London Design Festival will be in full swing by next weekend, not all eyes are on the capital.

Source: Courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design.
El Lissitzky, New Man, 1921
Over in Little Portland Street in central London, a new show of Russian design and art is opening, showcasing some incredible Soviet avant-garde artworks, and others that have been reconstructed for today’s audiences.

Source: Courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design
Gustavs Klucis, Design for a Folding Stand for Slogans and Posters,1922
For the Utopia Ltd exhibition to be held at GRAD gallery, model maker Henry Milner has created some beautiful, frequently esoteric sculptural pieces informed by the geometric experiments of Soviet artists including El Lissitzky, Gustavs Klucis and Aleksandr Rodchenko.

Source: courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design
Henry Milner after El Lissitzky, New Man (Progress)
He will also be presenting his reworkings of designs by Vladimir Tatlin, including this beautiful avian creation, Letalin:

Source: Courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design
Vladimir Tatlin, Letatlin
The fragile flying machine is inspired by the anatomy of seabirds, but forged together through the lens of Russian Constructivism. According to the gallery, the piece ‘[epitomises] the figure of the Soviet artist-as-engineer.’

Source: Courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design.
Henry Milner after Vladimir Tatlin, Monument to the Third International
GRAD gallery says, ‘Where the Constructivists advocated for collaboration and momentum in their work, Milner accepts their open invitation to continue and experiment with forms and materials’.

Source: courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design
Gustavs Klucis, Design for a Stand with Rotating Slogan Workers of the World Unite, 1922
Alongside the reconstructions, a series of works by Gustavs Klucis, ‘the youngest of the Constructivists’, according to the gallery, will be on show.

Source: Courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design
Henry Milner after El Lissitzky, New Man (Progress)
These pieces exemplify the traits of Soviet Modernism, looking to utilise design and public artwork to push the Communist agenda.
Prints, documentary film and photography from the period will also be on show, aiming to create an overview of the artistic side of the revolution and its visual culture.

Source: courtesy GRAD Gallery for Russian Arts and Design
Aleksandr Rodchenko, Oval Hanging Construction
Utopia Ltd runs from 21 September – 20 December at GRAD: Gallery for Russian Arts and Design, 3-4a Little Portland Street, London W1W
Any Malevich?!