The journey through the exhibition gives some idea of Goncharova's irrepressibly dynamic evolution as an artist, as she moved from Impressionism to Post-Impressionism to Expressionism, and investigated the machine age by developing '
Rayonism', a form of Russian abstract art whose long, flare-like dashes were a response to Italian Futurism.
In contrast, the Wild Horse Series shows how Rahi uses the visual imagery of
Rayonism to stress the presence of light and thus departs from the cubist convention of creating subdued light.
Oppermann's first ensembles evolved around 1968, emerging almost organically out of her canvases of the same period: fragmented, multi-perspective, kaleidoscopic images that sit somewhere between an LSD aesthetic and such predecessors as
Rayonism and Surrealism.
In 1910 she and Larionov developed a new style of abstraction called "
Rayonism" (an outgrowth of Futurism) in which the subject appears to be broken into planes meant to resemble rays of light.
In addition to Malevich's explorations of abstraction with Suprematicism, there were a series of art "isms" that had their roots in whole or part with Russian artists, including
Rayonism, Constructivism, Cubo-futurism and Neo-primitivism.
Thus, for example, her selection of Futurist manifestos is titled "Futurisms" and includes not only the Italians but the Russians associated with
Rayonism and Zaoum.
Indeed, revivals of Wagner's works during the early years of the Revolution complemented the political currents of the proletariat and encouraged Russian artists (such as Viktor Tatlin) to design productions reflecting constructivism,
rayonism, or other avant-garde techniques.
Or: How did the tenets of Cubism lead Goncharova to develop a new style of abstraction called
Rayonism?
While the 1986 landmark exhibition "Futurism and Futurisms" at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice captured the gamut of media that is the movement's defining characteristic, it included related developments, from Russian
Rayonism to British Vorticism.
Although these artists are highly respected in the West (many emigrated to Europe and the us), the recent spectacular boom for the avant-garde--encompassing Futurism,
Rayonism, Constructivism, Suprematism and other movements--is driven almost exclusively by Russia's new collectors, who in the past decade have been aggressively repatriating their heritage.
This Mediterranean palette evoked the abstraction of both 1950s France and 1980s Los Angeles, but conjured other painterly referents with equal breeziness: Impressionism,
Rayonism, Matisse, 1970s pattern painting.