Chip off the old Bloc
Communist retro chic was clearly the order of the evening at this week's most bonkers art launch. Kostya, a uniformed CCCP guard, suspiciously admitted guests.
Glamorous young girls, wearing worker-inspired costumes commissioned from Fashion Week darlinks Tata-Naka, doled out black caviar.
Fresh-faced 'young pioneers' in authentic Soviet uniform seemed to have stepped straight out of the aspirational Soviet poster art surrounding them, including work from graphic masters such as Rodchenko, Klutsis and Lissitsky.
These posters were vital propaganda tools for a central government trying to propagate a Homo Sovieticus image across the vast steppes of the former USSR.
The selection on display march from 1918 to the eve of the Gorbachev era - all stamped with a recognisable Soviet aesthetic despite their range of styles: from weird Futurist experiment to stern-stencilled simplicity; satirical cartoon to near-Pop Art 1960s campery.
Ideals as varied as an end to illiteracy, the dangers of idleness and the equality of women are all covered. There's also a rather endearing Shubina illustration of a waitress presenting a big spotty teapot with the motto: 'Let's serve each other in a cultivated manner.'
However, beneath the canapès and red flag-waving, there is very little to surprise here - particularly if you caught the recent mini-exhibition at Tate Modern.
Until Sat, Air Gallery, 32 Dover Street W1, Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm, free. Tel: 020 7409 1255. Tube: Green Park
