New Russian design

Contemporary designers in Russia have re-emerged from relative silence over several decades. They have established a voice that has been internationally acknowledged as a particularly Russian expression of the avant-garde. A group of men and women have diligently and often bravely worked, against all odds both creatively and economically, to the point where a new Russian design direction can be identified. With the recent revolutionary changes in the country, the atmosphere of openness and opportunity has led to further developments in areas previously seen either as subversive or as having use only as state-supported propaganda. An exciting new and independent design community has been born. . This landmark volume presents to a curious world the distinctive and controversial work of graphic artists, including posters, packaging and editorial designs; "Paper Architecture," the innovative, artful, and often fantastical depictions of visionary structures; built environments for restaurants, retail stores, and exhibitions; and industrial design, including furniture, objects, and consumer products. The design work of Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin, Yuri Avvakumov, Tatiana Samoilova, Dmitry Azrikan, Vladimir Chaika, Alexander Gelman, Helena Kitayeva, Igor Maistrovsky, Andrey Kolosov and Valeria Kovrigina, and several other Russian design practitioners is featured. An extensive introduction devoted to the history of design in the country since 1917, identifying the heroes and precedents of this new generation of designers, is also included.