Events-All

Paintings by Elena Kalman: Catastrophe and What Survives

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:32:01 GMT

Recent works by Ukrainian-born artist Elena Kalman that reflect on moments of disruption and what endures beyond them

Kalman’s paintings depict landscapes, roads, and imagined environments marked by instability, including falling trees, fractured structures, and distant explosions, alongside images of water, sky, and terrain that persist. Created in a time shaped by war and ongoing global uncertainty, these works place scenes of rupture in direct relation to the natural world.

The artist writes, “My work is shaped by the tension between catastrophe and continuity, between the moments when the world seems to fracture and the deeper forces that endure beyond every crisis.”

Kalman received her Master of Architecture degree from the Moscow Architecture Institute, the birthplace of Russian Constructivism, and her undergraduate degree in art from the Kyiv Art Institute. She immigrated to the United States in 1979 and founded the Stamford, Connecticut-based firm Elena Kalman Architects in 1988. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States. Ukraine Defiant: Paintings by Elena Kalman, a series sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was presented at The Museum of Russian Art in 2023.

The Bicentennial Moment: New Research on the Decembrists

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:50:05 GMT

This event is online only. Join the meeting here.

This flash panel, organized for the two hundredth anniversary of the legendary Decembrist Uprising, features four young scholars pioneering new directions in this classic field. Alina Mezenova will explore how the image of the Decembrists evolved and was reinterpreted in Russian and Soviet culture in the twentieth century. Stanislav Tarasov examines how the Age of Sensibility and moral philosophy contributed to the Decembrist worldview. Yasyn Abdullaev demonstrates how the uprising’s legacy contributed to the rise of a conspiratorial mentality in the Russian state security apparatus. Finally, Anna Nath offers a philosophical meditation on what it meant for the Decembrists to break through their present moment to “become revolutionary.”

SPEAKERS: Alina Mezenova (Notre Dame), Stanislav Tarasov (Independent), Yasyn Abdullaev (Berkeley), Anna Nath (Rutgers)

SOBESEDNIKI: Ingrid Kleespies (University of Florida) and Emily Wang (Notre Dame)

Mysteries and Odysseys

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 19:09:50 GMT

An exhibit featuring remarkable stories told by the artifacts in the Russian History Museum’s collection.

The Beast of Joy: Women Artists from Soviet Republics

Wed, 27 May 2026 15:40:39 GMT

Highlighting artists from Ukraine, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and Central Asia working in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s.

Say No to War: Political Cartoons by Ukranian & Russian Artists

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 18:12:24 GMT

This exhibition of antiwar political cartoons includes recent works by renowned cartoonists from Ukraine and Russia created in response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.