THE ROAD NORTH

After World War II, painters in the Soviet Union looked for subjects to reaffirm their nation's values at a time when the Nazi invasion, communism and privation had all but destroyed it. Some found renewal in the modest villages and peasant life of the far north, where traditional values of hard work, community and family had survived despite the official push to modernize through industrialization. "The Road North," featuring more than 60 paintings by artists of the "Village Movement," offers an intimate look at the lives of Soviet-era peasants and fishermen including the inhabitants of the "Northern Village" shown here, painted in 1960 by Yuri Ivanovich Semenyuk. (Opens Sat. Ends Aug. 28. Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Av. S., Mpls. $7 adults. 612-821-9045 or www.tmora.org.)

SHARED HERITAGE

At a time when religions remain a divisive force in many parts of the world, Minneapolis artist Georgette Sosin is seeking the "Shared Heritage" that links some of them. The colorful paintings in this show, which closes next week, were inspired by the book "Prayers of the Cosmos," in which author Neil Douglas-Klotz translates ancient prayers from their original Aramaic into modern English. Some of the prayers are still in use today, including the Kaddish and the Lord's Prayer. The common spiritual roots of Judaism and Christianity will be the subject of a panel discussion Sunday with Sosin and three Twin Cities clergy members: the Rev. Michael O'Connell, the Rev. Kendyl Gibbons and Rabbi Barry Cytron. (3-5 p.m. Sun., free. Exhibition ends Thu. Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 Cedar Lake Rd. S., Mpls., 952-381-3416 or www.sabesjcc.org.)

MARY ABBE