Under the auspices of the EAJC, an exhibition of works by Meir Axelrod has opened in Minsk.

With the support of the EAJC, the exhibition of paintings by Meer Axelrod entitled "And Time Comes Alive in Light Colors" opened on September 9 at the Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum in Minsk. The exhibition will run until October 21.

The legacy of Meer Axelrod (1902-1970) belongs to the history of Russian, Jewish, and Belarusian art. In Russia and Israel, the artist's name is now widely recognized. Hundreds of his works are held in the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and the Israel Museum.

Meer Moiseevich Axelrod was born in Molodechno in 1902. His life began with displacement. During the First World War, Jewish population was deported from the front-line areas, as the authorities feared potential collaboration with German forces due to linguistic similarities. This forced the Axelrod family to leave their home. The future artist was twelve years old at the time, and his brother Zelik was ten.

In 1918, after months of wandering across Russia, the family returned to Belarus and settled on Yurievo-Zavalnaya Street in Minsk (as Molodechno had already become part of Poland).

In 1921, Axelrod's works were first exhibited at the Exhibition of Belarusian Artists in Minsk, drawing significant attention. According to A. Romm, Axelrod presented sketches of Jewish quarters and cemeteries, portraits, and genre scenes.

While studying at the Vkhutemas, the young artist joined the "4 Arts" association and exhibited internationally, yet continued to visit his homeland frequently. In search of characteristic subjects and "Sholom Aleichem-esque local color", he traveled through the Jewish shtetls of Belarus with heavy artists' gear. These precise works constitute the major part of the current exhibition.

Axelrod continued to work during the most challenging periods for Soviet art. In the late 1930s, the artist was accused of "formalism," resulting in his exclusion from exhibitions. Prior to that, he completed illustrations for books by Moshe Kulbak, Izi Kharik, and his brother Zelik Axelrod. Shortly thereafter, all these Jewish writers were arrested and perished in detention. Following the war, the artist worked on book designs for prominent Belarusian writers, including Kupala, Kolas, and Biadula.

Toward the end of his life, his connection to his native Belarus reemerged; utilizing sketches drawn from life in the 1920s, the artist created a series of landscapes titled "Memories of Old Minsk."

The current exhibition represents a significant milestone in returning Axelrod's art to his homeland.