The Beast of Joy: Women Artists from Soviet Republics

Highlighting artists from Ukraine, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and Central Asia working in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s. Long underrecognized, these women forged distinctive practices shaped by local traditions, modernist legacies, and relentless experimentation. Presented in dialogue with poetry from the same regions and period, the presentation emphasizes art’s multivocal nature. Drawn entirely from the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection, The Beast of Joy foregrounds women’s vital contributions to Soviet nonconformist art. 

The Beast of Joy: Women Artists from Soviet Republics is organized by Olena Martynyuk, Associate Curator, Department of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union and Arts of Eurasia. 

This exhibition is made possible by the leadership support of the Avenir Foundation Endowment Fund, with additional support from the Dodge Charitable Trust–Nancy Ruyle Dodge, Trustee. 

Generous support for bilingual text is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.