Photo exhibition celebrating Ivan Misko opened at VDNkh in Moscow

MOSCOW, 24 January (BelTA) - The photo exhibition "Ivan Misko's Cosmos" has opened in the art and exhibition space of the Pavilion of the Republic of Belarus at VDNKh in Moscow, BelTA learned from the organizers of the project.

The exhibition marks the 90th anniversary of the sculptor, People's Artist of Belarus Ivan Misko and has been organized jointly with the Yuri Gagarin Museum-Reserve and the Minsk City History Museum.

"The author's art is multifaceted, but the main theme is cosmonautics and its heroes. Ivan Misko has devoted more than 50 years of creative activity to this topic, creating a whole gallery of sculptural portraits of Russian and foreign cosmonauts who made space travels under the Intercosmos program. Ivan Misko has the warmest regard for Yuri Gagarin and his family. He was a good friend of Anna Gagarina, the mother of the first cosmonaut. She repeatedly visited the sculptor's studio, advised him as he worked on a sculptural portrait of her son and posed for him as he made her sculpture," the organizers said.

The exhibition features rare photographs from different years, including those made by the sculptor himself. It will run until 24 February.

Ivan Misko has been awarded the Francysk Skaryna Medal, the USSR State Prize and the Union State Award in Literature and Art. Pieces of his art are kept in the National Art Museum of Belarus, the Belarusian Union of Artists, the National Center for Contemporary Arts, the Minsk City History Museum, the Yuri Gagarin Museum-Reserve and the Museum of Star City.