Image: Chimneys plate, part of the 1917 centenary collection.
1985. Thatcherism reigned triumphant. The Miners’ Strike was coming to a sorry end. Reagan in the White House, the second Cold War dominating what remained of international relations. Curious, then, that the Crafts Council of England and Wales should choose to open the year with an exhibition of Soviet textiles, fashion and ceramics 1917-1935, Art into Production.
In 2017 there has been a whole host of Russian Revolution centenary exhibitions, conferences, TV specials and more. But in 1985? The extraordinary richness of the art was however enough to reverse the pessimism that leftist visitors to the exhibition like myself were suffering from as any prospect of a progressive, let alone a socialist, politics receded. As the emotional downturn of opportunities for change in turn created bitter divisions in and around a Left in retreat.
