KUKRYNIKSY
Новый «Болшой Скачок» Пекина [The new Great Leap of Peking [Beijing]]
Moscow, Izadetelstvo ‘Plakat’
1979
54 x 37 cm, 11 (of 12) posters loosely inserted in a printed paper portfolio featuring two further designs, two short tears to the portfolio spine, else fine.
A striking series of posters with an anti-Mao tone, from the time of the Sino-Vietman war. Taking a satirical look at the process of modernization in China, a process that involves embracing imperialism and shunning world socialism and communist, to create a united anti-socialist front.
The Kukryniksi – a portmanteau name derived from the names of the three artists, Mikhail Kupryanov (Ku), Porfiri Krylov (Kry), and Nikolai Sokolov (Niks) – are arguably the most successful Russian caricaturists. Favoured by the establishment, they were rarely privileged in being allowed to travel, producing views of Europe as well as a variety of spirited propaganda drawings in support of the Russian war effort, and illustrating many classic Russian texts.
