A trove of abstract paintings and sculptures by Russian artist Oleg Prokofiev, hidden for decades in Moscow after he fled the Soviet Union, has been rediscovered and is now on public display for the first time. Prokofiev concealed the works in the 1950s and 1960s to avoid state persecution—abstract art was banned in the USSR, and his relationship with British scholar Camilla Gray made marriage impossible until 1969. After Gray's death and his move to England, the artworks remained safely stored in Moscow, where he found them intact after the Soviet collapse. The collection, including paintings, sculptures, sketchbooks, and letters, is now exhibited at the newly founded Prokofiev Studio in Hackney, London, established by his four children and curator Anzhela Popova.
The recovery and exhibition of Prokofiev's lost oeuvre matters because it restores a suppressed chapter of Soviet-era abstract art and revives the legacy of an artist who worked in defiance of state censorship. The opening of Prokofiev Studio, with its inaugural group show "Bending Time," not only presents Prokofiev's own work—including twisting wooden sculptures and geometric abstractions—but also aims to foster cross-disciplinary exchange among contemporary artists in visual art, film, music, and literature. This initiative highlights how personal and political repression can obscure artistic contributions, and how family and curatorial efforts can reclaim and recontextualize that history for new audiences.