New Art Gallery Gives People The Chance to Laugh and Learn

The College of New Rochelle opened an art gallery featuring pieces from Anne Bobroff-Hajal’s collection titled Russia Through the Looking Glass this past Sunday, October 26th.

The gallery, which included original paintings and digital reprints of images, is meant to portray the history of Russia in a comical, yet accurate way, according to the artist. Bobroff-Hajal showed her expertise in the field, along with her Ph.D in Russian History, by researching and talking with other historians for the past decade. With some pieces taking as long as a year and half to create, some of which are not even fully completed yet, Bobroff-Hajal has devoted herself to this collection that she refers to as her love and passion.

Some of the focal points of her pieces included Joseph Stalin, Catherine the Great, Ivan the Terrible, and the peasants of Russia throughout the country’s history. Much of the art included songs of her own creation relating to the story she’s trying to tell. Though some of the art includes images of severed dog heads and peasants being attacked by men on horses, Bobroff-Hajal intends for the songs to shed a lighter light on these graphic depictions.

During the opening reception, Bobroff-Hajal said that during a recent trip to a museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, she couldn’t even look at the art because of how horrific it was.

“A lot of what I’m dealing with are horrible things. I think if you only see the horror of it, no one wants to see it. It makes people uncomfortable,” Bobroff-Hajal said regarding why she feels it is important to include comedic elements in her work. “It wasn’t something I necessarily wanted, it was just how the art came out. It allows you to not be so depressed and horrified.”

The accuracy of the art, and even the Russian food during the reception, was applauded by a visiting student from Krasnoyarsk, USSR. Kristina Kovshova, a part-time student at Westchester Community College, was told about the opening by one of her teachers. She really was surprised to see such an accurate depiction of her own country entirely made by a U.S. citizen.

“If I didn’t know it was made by an American, I would have thought it was made by somebody from the Czech Republic,” said Kovshova. “She did a good job showing that Russia today mirrors Soviet Russia in a lot of ways.”

The free exhibit, which is held in the Mooney Gallery at The College of New Rochelle, will be open to the public until November 16th. The gallery is open Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m to 9 p.m, and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m to 5 p.m.