ST. PETERSBURG.- The State Russian Museum offers an exhibition of works by Arkady Plastov. Some fifty painterly works retrospectively demonstrate the oeuvre of the Soviet art classic. Beside the Museum Collection artworks, there are also works from the Tretyakov Gallery and the Ulyanov Regional Art Museum.

Arkady Plastov (1893-1972) lived and worked in the village of Prislonikha, Ulyanov Region. His genres, still-lives, and portraits made in the traditions of the Russian plein air painting reveal the artist's profound understanding of the life of the Russian village, its people and his poetic attitude towards the nature. He depicted the beauty of the world but did not aim for prettiness, he was sincere in showing the reality but never came down to the petty naturalism. This allowed Plastov to take an honorary place among the best artists whose oeuvre form the Russian art 'gold fund'.

The Arkady Plastov exhibition in the Marble Palace is one of the official events timed to the G8 summit.

Plastov first studied at the Simbirsk Seminary (1908-1912); later at the Stroganov Art-Industrial School (1912-1914) and Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He was active in exhibitions from 1921. The artist was named People's Artist of the USSR, full member of the USSR Academy of Arts 1947, laureate of Stalin prize 1946. The works are found in The State Tretyakov Gallery, The State Russian Museum. Arkady Plastov was an outstanding soviet impressionist, one of the great figures in soviet era art.