FORMA

FORMA was founded by Walera Martynchik in 1987 as an independent platform for experimental art beyond Soviet Socialist Realism. Bringing together painters, performers and installation artists, the group forged a vital link between the Belarusian underground and the wider network of late‑Soviet nonconformist art.

Walera Martynchik and FORMA

Connecting Belarusian Nonconformists to the Wider Avant‑Garde.

In 1987 Walera Martynchik founded and curated FORMA, an association of Belarusian nonconformist artists created to provide an independent platform for experimental art outside the conventions of Soviet Socialist Realism. The group brought together artists working in painting, installation, performance and happenings.

FORMA’s first exhibition was held in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia, in 1987, followed by an exhibition at the State Art Museum in Kadriorg, Tallinn.

In 1988 the group participated in the Festival of Soviet Unofficial Art in Narva, where its artists created installations and performances, including the symbolic action Catching the Air of Freedom on the Soviet border beach.

Further FORMA exhibitions and activities followed in Minsk and Moscow, including exhibitions connected with Troitsk and Moscow galleries in 1989. Through FORMA, Martynchik helped connect the Belarusian underground with the wider network of Soviet nonconformist art during the final years of the USSR.