The Art Deco architectural style of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is one usually associatedwith the plutocrats and movie moguls of the 1930s. It may therefore seem a tad ironic to hold an exhibition of posters from Communist Russia at such a venue. But the rivalry between the Soviet Union and Western capitalism spurred the space race, the spread of internationalism and the ascendancy of material values.
And the relationship between communism and capitalism also influenced graphic design. For generations, art students in the West found inspiration in the bold strokes of the avant-garde design pioneered by Soviet artists in the years following the 1917 revolution.
This is why so many posters at this exhibition, especially those made by the Stenberg brothers, have such a modern feel to them.