Launch of the Lissitzky Foundation
Online press presentation:
30 April 2015, 2pm CET
El Lissitzky Foundation
c/o Van Abbemuseum
P.O. Box 235
5600 AE Eindhoven
The Netherlands
On Thursday 30 April at 2pm CET the Lissitzky Foundation will be launched in an online presentation for the international press. The Lissitzky Foundation is a newly established international non-profit organisation to promote research and exhibitions of the work of the Russian artist El Lissitzky (1890–1941). A major function of the Foundation will be to create a catalogue raisonné of the works of Lissitzky, one of the most versatile artists of the Russian avant-garde. His oeuvre comprises drawings, paintings, graphic works and photographs, but also architectural designs, advertisements, designs for books and journals, exhibition designs and writings. Works by Lissitzky are part of many public and private collections all over the world.
To subscribe to the online presentation please send an email to info [at] lissitzky.org you will receive a link to participate.
The presentation
The online presentation of the Foundation on 30 April will be led by its president, Charles Esche, director of the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. Accompanied by members of the Board of Directors and several members of the Advisory Board, this will be the official announcement of the Foundation’s establishment, its mission, goals and current activities. Before the presentation, the website of the Foundation will be put online.
The Foundation’s activities
One of the first projects of the Foundation is the publication in English of a major book focusing on El Lissitzky’s Jewish period (1910–19). The book is authored by Alexander Kantsedikas, and Israel-based scholar who has published several books on the artist. The book on the Jewish period has been completed and is currently undergoing edits, outside reader commentary and design.
Another publication coming up is the translation into Russian of the first major Western monograph on El Lissitzky published originally in German by VEB Verlag in Dresden in 1967 and authored by his widow, Sophie-Kueppers Lissitzky. The book was translated into English in 1980 and distributed by Thames and Hudson. The translation project is being overseen by Lissizky’s great-granddaughter, Valeria Lissitzkaya, who is a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Board.
There are many works attributed to Lissitzky on the market. During the years to come the Foundation will focus on creating a catalogue of works of the artist. The publication date of this catalogue is not determined yet as the experts connected to the Foundation will first start to structure and plan the publication. Preliminary work has already commenced.
The Foundation’s setup
The Lissitzky Foundation has a Board of Directors supported by an Advisory Board of international experts in the field of Russian avant-garde. The members act as a council to the Board of Directors in matters of research, publications and exhibitions.
The administrative home of the Foundation is the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, which hosts the largest collection of works by Lissitzky outside Russia.
