'Artistic Underground in the Late Soviet Era'

Soviet artists often criticized their country's political excesses and quietly bucked the tight rein the government kept on personal expression, though for years their critiques circulated quietly and were shown covertly. They only found full expression as the Soviet economy collapsed and its government trembled in the 1980s and '90s. An unusual new show, drawn mostly from the Museum of Russian Art's own collection, will feature "nonconformist" work by 20 artists whose paintings emerged from that turbulent political era. Featured artists include, among others, Oleg Vassiliev, Ilya Kabakov, Ernst Neizvestny, Eduard Shteinberg, Oleg Tselkov, Leonid Sokov and Vladimir Nemukhin, whose 1982 "Composition With Fish" is shown here. (Opening 6-8 p.m. Sat. Free. 5500 Stevens Av. S., Mpls. Ends Nov. 13, $9 adults. 612-821-9045 or tmora.org.

Mary Abbe