Alexey Morgunov, a brilliant master experimenter, a friend and close associate of M.F. Larionov, K.S. Malevich and V.E Tatlin who stood at the origins of Russian avant-garde, was unappreciated by contemporaries and descendants. It may be attributed to both his character (lack of leadership ambitions and relative “non-publicity”) and his peculiar talent (lack of interest in manifestos and declarations).

The high quality of Alexey Morgunov’s paintings was always appreciated by art fans; yet his name remained little known to the wide public. The exhibition arranged by the Tretyakov Gallery is intended to demonstrate the scale of his talent and emphasize his role in the art of the XX century.

This is the first personal display of the artist’s painting and graphics while the monumental album-catalog compiled specially for the exhibition is the only volume of his art legacy. It contains and comments on the works from over 30 museums and private collections including large collections of the I.V. Savitsky State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan (Nukus) and A. Kasteyev State Art Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Alma-Ata).

Most works as well as nearly all theoretical and critical articles by Morgunov have never been published before.

Of undoubted interest is the publication of archival photographs of some of the lost canvases of 1913–1919 from the Russian State Gallery of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The exhibition project is timed to the 140th anniversary of the artist's birth.