The intermuseum artistic exhibition “Life After Life” will show how Petersburg artists explore the themes of death and immortality through visual art (painting, graphics, sculpture). Questions surrounding the definition of death and what comes thereafter are among mankind’s most disputed topics to this day. Manege’s exhibition is devoted to this profound experience and the delicate spiritual and visual interpretations that it demands.

Manege will present work created from 1725 to 2018 by artists such as Alexei Venetsianov, Karl Bryullov, Pyotr Klodt, Fyodor Bruni, Mark Antokolsky, Viktor Borisov-Musatov, Mikhail Vrubel, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Vasily Polenov, Alexander Golovin, Ilya Repin, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Ivan Bilibin, Nikolai Roerich, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Alexandre Benois, Vladimir Sterligov, Alexander Arefev, Pavel Kondratev, Marc Chagall, Yevsey Moiseyenko, Andrei Mylnikov, and also contemporary artists such as Uldus Bakhtiozina, Anatoly Belkin, Alexander Zagoskin, Vladimir Kustov, Vyacheslav Mikhailov, Denis Patrakeev, Vitaly Pushnitsky, Nikolai Sazhin, Konstantin Simun, Dmitry Shagin, Mikhail Chemiakin, and many others.

“In this exhibition, one can see a diverse palette of artistic reflections on the themes of life, death, and immorality––from living through a tragic loss and fear of the mystical unknown, to the mysteries of mankind interpreted through the magical imagery of fairy tales,” says curator Elizaveta Pavlycheva. “Within these reflections there is heroism, overcoming, and games in the face of death, and all are full of the authors’ deeply philosophical, emotional experiences.”

More than 20 museums are participating in the project, including the Hermitage Museum, the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, and other museums from St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other Russian cities from Krasnodar to Pskov. Works from private collections will also be included in the exhibition.

Idea: Pavel Prigara
Curator: Elizaveta Pavlycheva
Artistic consultant: Vitaly Pushnitsky
Exhibition design: Alexander Kriventsov / «Tsirkul» Architectural Company
Graphic design: Anastasia Nesudimova
Exhibition soundtrack: Misha Mishchenko
Exhibition fragrance: Floriental Comme des Garçons / St Petersburg