Overcoming Oppression

On the whole, political overtones and a culture of protest aren’t the main attractions of the Finegood Art Gallery’s current show, which features works by Russian emigres living in Los Angeles.

Instead, the spirit lurking beneath the surface is one of celebration, and the sense of transcendence over oppression is reflected in the exhibition’s title, “Obscurity to Freedom.”

One poignant aspect of considering art by former Soviet subjects is the realization that Modernism historically gained some of its intellectual fervor

from Russian artists working in the pre-Bolshevik era.

After the Russian Revolution, various despotic forces and patterns of censorship from on high kept artists from following paths of free expression--in effect, robbing the culture of its progressive momentum.

The Finegood show, a pleasant gathering of work, is anything but revolutionary, but it contains elements reflecting the parade of Modernist styles that have become part of the fabric of 20th century art. In a way, the artists make up for lost time, and deal with styles that other contemporary artists might ignore.

Post-Cubist fragmentation of imagery and space is the operative style of Vladimir Atanian in paintings such as “Enigmatic Touch” and “Mystic Conversation.” Cubist instincts also surface in Ernest Galpern’s “Roofs,” which is all intersecting geometric forms and planes. Galpern extends the style into three dimensions with colorful, convoluted sculptures.

Ivan Shvarts’ sculpture, “A Moment of Truth,” is an entanglement of forms, somewhere between the abstract impulse of Constructivism and a depiction of an amorous encounter.

Ann Krasner’s bright-hued paintings are built around whimsical vignettes with gaudy limb-stretching figures, echoing the way Chagall incorporated folk art into his work.

Alexander Antonuk shows floral studies with a critical difference: flowers are filtered through obscuring veils, introducing a weird mystique that draws in the viewer.

Curveball wit pops up in Yelera Chemerisov’s paintings, which are neat little flower jobs with cute-as-a-button mugs of chimps inserted--almost as an afterthought. These paintings are head-scratchers, but lovingly rendered.

In contrast, Svetlana Eydel’s sure-handed watercolor portraits contain no monkey business or hidden agenda, just fine art-making.

Anton Suvorov’s “Electrician” is the one piece in the show that suggests an ominous allegory, possibly conveying the peril of life under Soviet rule. It’s a mysterious night scene in which an electrician dangling upside-down on a ole--perhaps a shock victim?--is observed by various animals, ghostly white in the nocturnal setting. In all, the scene carries an air of black comic calamity.

Then again, knowing this is art by a former Russian might lead us into interpretive contortions we otherwise wouldn’t consider. With shows by artists recently released from behind the Iron Curtain, our curiosity is naturally piqued, as if meeting with old friends for the first time in, well, decades.

BE THERE

“Obscurity to Freedom,” through Oct. 31 at Finegood Art Gallery, Bernard Milken Jewish Community Center, 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (818) 716-1773.