The evolution of the Gzhel craft in the work of leading artists: from classical traditions to modernity

Abstract

The article investigates the mechanisms by which the traditions of Gzhel art were preserved in the 20th and 21st centuries, focusing on the continuity between the generation of masters who revived the craft in the post-war years and contemporary artists shaping its development in the 21st century. While the post-war period of Gzhel’s ‘revival’ (the 1940s–1970s) and the oeuvre of its founders have been thoroughly researched, the current state of the craft and the artistic processes of recent decades remain largely understudied. In art history, there is a clear deficit of published biographical information on contemporary masters, as well as a lack of theoretical understanding of how Gzhel functions today, transcending commercial reproduction and maintaining its status as high fine art. By comparing the creative paths and artistic languages of T.S. Dunashova and E.B. Sukhorukova, the paper traces the evolution of the Gzhel style over nearly eight decades and reveals how the canon of traditional art has been reimagined in a contemporary context. Crucial biographical information documenting the living tradition of the craft is introduced into scholarly discourse. The study relies on art-historical analysis of specific works and the masters’ creative strategies, a comparison of the stages of Gzhel canon formation and its reassessment in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and an examination of painting techniques (the ‘one-stroke brushwork with shadows’), compositional principles, and form-shaping. Particular attention is paid to the role of a cohort of artists who graduated from Abramtsevo College in the 1980s, who expanded the plastic and narrative boundaries of this artisanal craft.