Nowadays Vladimir Lubenko’s school graduates are successful experts in different fields including at the international level. They are resourceful creative people who have an inexhaustible energy.

As the school principal, V. Lubenko had always attached great importance to the educational role of environment; accordingly, he created not only school interior but also unique creative space around — the open-air museum “St. Petersburg is the Olympus of culture”. It’s known as “mosaic yard”. Several generations of children who studied at Vladimir Lubenko’s school were brought up by the mosaic open-air museum. It’s bound to attract a lot of attention of city visitors and citizens as an example of new art which call to explore the ideas and create.

In 1984 Vladimir Lubenko opened the studio of bringing up by means of art in the State Russian Museum “Volcano” (2/7 Chaykovskogo st., Central district). The studio of bringing was converted to State school later. Now, Malaya Academy of Arts includes school of art, the open-air museum “St. Petersburg is the Olympus of culture”, creative workshops, gallery and theatre activities.

As Jean M. Verzhbitsky, the author of Architectural designs such as airport Pulkovo and Great Concert Hall Oktyabrsky, once said of Vladimir Lubenko’s school:  “Attending “Malaya Academy of Arts” provides opportunities for students to develop and improve their own creative ways that can develop their own personality,  demonstrate their individual creativity. “To observe”, it is a crucial part in the process of children’s painting. “To observe” for them it means to feel the whole thing at once, fully, freely, and transform the complex multifaceted reality into poetic image in which there isn’t clear line between reality and imagination”.

At the exhibition you can see monumental and easel students paintings of Malaya Academy of Arts — Vladimir Lubenko’s school.

The amazing author’s school is based on the principle of synthesis of arts and sciences in life and work.

Through Vladimir Lubenko’s method students’ paintings are loaded with meanings, amazing variety of multifaceted nature of images and incredible picturesqueness.

Malaya Academy of Arts shows amazing results from year to year since 1984. The most outstanding monumental paintings are the painting of ballet’s café of the State Mariinsky Theatre, the painting of the room of tales in Central republic State children’s library in Moscow.  A large number of students’ works were presented in numerous Russian exhibitions including the State Russian museum, Manege Central Exhibition Hall etc.

The works of young artists by their internal essence could remind us the art of Matisse, Kandinsky, Van Gogh but it isn’t imitation. It’s children’s style, their reflections on world, nature, myths and legends, the rules of chemistry, physics or math. The most sophisticated art critics are quite rightly amazed and delighted by innovativeness defined by creativity. The works by students of Vladimir Lubenko’s school transfer the spectators to the world of philosophical ideas, giving rise to new discoveries. At first sight the complicated stories at the pictures may seem easy to implement. Clear bright colors and the concept composite design are the characteristic features of these paintings within diverse of forms. Every painting is an important means through which students learn and this is talking to someone in the audience. 

Curated by Bogdana Lubenko.