Lot 271: Elena Keller , Russian b.1951 New Idea, 1989 oil and collage on canvas

signed with artists's initials EK (lower right); signed, titled and inscribed in Cyrillic and dated 1989 (on the reverse) oil and collage on canvas

measurements 47 1/2 by 56 in. alternate measurements 119.5 by 143.5 cm

Washington DC, Gregory Gallery, Elena Keller: Recent Paintings, December, 1992

Gregory Gallery, New York

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, NEW YORK
Best known as a non-representational artist, Elena Keller has painted primarily in a hard-edged style. New Idea, a rare figurative work, was painted in 1989 in response to the implementation of perestroika in the Soviet Union. Two angels face each other not as opposing forces, but rather as two figures working in tandem to build the new Russia. The angels, signifying glasnost, are destroying the red star, the emblem of the old ideology. The words in the newspaper, "Gorbachev," on the left, and "Izvestiia," on the right, refer to the democratic expectation for freedom at the time. The headline in the lower right, "We Are Electing Democracy," emphasizes the sense of hope during that period. The brilliant red color around the angels symbolizes new life, new energy, and the desire for a better life for the Soviet people.