Alexander Archipenko

Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (1881-1964) was a highly prolific avant-garde artist who worked in several media but was perhaps best known for his sculpture. From 1902 to 1905, he attended the Kiev Art School (KKHU before becoming an apprentice of S. Svyatoslavsky in Kyiv in 1906 and staging an exhibition of his work jointly with with Oleksandr Bohomazov. He then moved to Moscow to take advantage of the opportunity for more exhibits. In 1908 he moved to Paris and acquainted himself with émigré Russian artists and also exhibited alongside such rising stars as Kazimir Malevich and Pablo Picasso. Four of his sculptures and five of his drawings appeared in the controversial Armory Show in 1913 in New York. He moved to Nice (France), in 1914, and in 1920 participated in the Twelfth Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte di Venezia in Italy, opening his own Art school in Berlin the following year. In 1922 Archipenko participated in the First Russian Art Exhibition in the Gallery van Diemen in Berlin with Kazimir Malevich and others. He emigrated to the United States in 1923 and acquired citizenship in 1929. In 1933 he exhibited at the Ukrainian pavilion in Chicago as part of the Century of Progress World’s Fair, making the biggest contribution to the success of the Ukrainian pavilion. His works were valued at $25,000. In 1936 Archipenko participated in the Cubism and Abstract Art Exhibition in New York as well as numerous exhibitions in Europe and other US states. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1962. He died in New York City.