Along the Way

The Shchusev State Museum of Architecture (with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture) presents "Along the Way." This exhibition is about travel, the fleeting impressions we get on the road, and the people we encounter in transit.

At the heart of the exhibition are 50 paintings by contemporary artist Nadezhda Krestinina, complemented by 12 original graphic works by renowned architects from the museum’s own collection. The result is a dialogue between modern, on-the-go sketches and architectural classics.

Natalya Shashkova, Director of the Museum of Architecture, explains:
"We invite visitors to recall their own feelings before a trip — the excitement, the anticipation. Or even their daily commute, which, it turns out, offers new visual impressions every single time."

Ksenia Lagoiskaya, project producer, curator:
"Over the course of several years, Nadezhda Krestinina has been creating a series of works entitled 'Public Transport.' And we are glad that the opportunity has arisen to show the audience a large part of this series. The artist's characters are not fictional — they are encountered by everyone, but an ordinary passenger, accustomed to a narrative, is hardly capable of gazing so deeply at their fellow travelers. The passenger Nadezhda Krestinina, however, is very attentive: that 'snatched-out' everydayness, taken from realism, transforms in her works into a three-dimensional impressionism."

The artist’s own words:
Nadezhda Krestinina describes the state of being on a train as "somnambulistic" — simultaneously distracted and hyper-aware.
"You’re in your home on wheels, having tea with a notebook or a book, and outside the window... everything rushes past. A fire lit by railroad workers, a person walking a dog, a fallen tree. You see everything from several angles — ahead, face-on, then you turn around — and it’s already gone. And then there are the stations, water towers, depots. If you get off, you discover things: a station in Vologda selling black bread and hard-boiled eggs piled in a giant plastic tub; a completely empty wooden station in Zubtsov, as cold as a summer cottage even in summer. And all those towns: Udomlya, Ostashkov, Michurinsk, Kamyshin, Yelets, Gryazi Voronezhskie, Koshekhabl... Landscapes that are beautiful partly because you’ll soon be leaving them behind."

Curator Olga Marutyan adds:
"The railway and the idea of travel have inspired writers, filmmakers, and artists for nearly two centuries. We saw a rare opportunity to bring together contemporary paintings and real architectural drawings — station designs, pavilions, even unrealized projects by great architects. In transit, everything changes quickly, yet time also seems to stand still. Everyone spends their travel time differently. Krestinina’s characters are no exception — each one experiences their journey in their own way."

Visitors will also see original sketches and designs by renowned architects and engineers, including:

Alexei Shchusev
Ivan Fomin
Vladimir Shchuko
Dmitry Strukov
Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky
Vladimir Shukhov
Alexei Dushkin
and others
Also available

A catalog of the same name will be published to accompany the exhibition.

Curators
Ksenia Lagoiskaya — collector, art manager
Olga Marutyan — art manager