Past Exhibitions

Chemiakin’s Worlds

The exhibition Chemiakin’s Worlds brings together thirteen works by Mihail Chemiakin, unfolding a striking variety of styles and techniques. Drawn entirely from the TMORA collection, this is Minnesota’s first solo show of the prominent nonconformist artist who opposed the power of the Soviet artistic establishment and was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1971 for his experimental […] Read more

Geometric Abstraction: Selections from the Kolodzei Art Foundation Collection

The exhibition Geometric Abstraction: Selections from the Kolodzei Art Foundation Collection features several artistic generations who worked in the Soviet Union, post-Soviet Russia, and countries to which they immigrated, during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The show includes works in different media—paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture–focusing, however, on a single style, that of geometric abstraction. Among the illustrious names are the […] Read more

A Hundred Rare Ornaments from the Soviet Era

Drawing on the Museum’s rich collection of Soviet-era holiday memorabilia, A Hundred Rare Ornaments  presents a selection of spun cotton figurines used for tree decoration in the USSR in the 1930s through 1950s. These eco-friendly ornaments are some of the oldest on the holiday market, originating from 19th century Germany. Imperial Russia produced their own, and the Soviet Union took over the tradition. Spun cotton ornaments were widespread in the 1930s […] Read more

Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection

The exhibition features sixty icons drawn from Oleg Kushnirskiy’s important collection of Russian sacred art. Displayed in a museum setting for the first time, Kushnirskiy’s collection presents a remarkably focused assembly of works created in the renowned icon-painting centers of Palekh, Mstyora, and Guslitsy, among others, in the late 17th–19th centuries. Many of the icons elaborate the iconography […] Read more

A Thousand Nesting Dolls

Due to popular demand, this exhibition has been extended through April 6, 2025. The exhibition showcases TMORA’s unique collection of nesting dolls, the largest in this country. The display includes some of the earliest dolls ever created and traces the development of the craft through the 20th century. From village handiworks to artist-painted pieces, the […] Read more