Alexander Archipenko was born in
Kiev, in present-day
Ukraine (at the time a part of the
Russian Empire) to Porfiry Antonowitsch Archipenko and Poroskowia Wassiliewna Machowa Archipenko; he was the younger brother of Eugene Archipenko.
From
1902-1905, he attended the Kiev Art School (KKHU), after which he continued his education in the arts as the student of S.Svyatoslavsky in
1906 (also in Kiev). In the same year he had an exhibition in Kiev, together with Bogomazov. That same year, Archipenko moved to
Moscow, where he had a chance to exhibit his work in some group shows.
By
1909, however, he had moved on to
Paris.
From 1909-
1914 he was a resident in the artist's
Colony La Ruche, among emigre Russian artists:
Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine, Sonia Delaunay-Terk and
Nathan Altman.
After 1910 Alexander Archipenko
had exhibitions at
Salon des Independants,
Salon D'Automne together with
Aleksandra Ekster, Kazimir Malevich, Vadym Meller, Sonia Delaunay-Terk alongside
Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Andre Derain.
In 1912 Archipenko had his first personal exhibition at the Museum Folkwang in
Hagen.
From 1912 to 1914 Archipenko was teaching at his own Art College in Paris.
In 1913 Archipenko's works appeared at the
Armory Show in
New York.
In 1914 he moved to
Nice.
In 1920 he participated in
Twelfth Biennale Internazionale dell'Arte di Venezia in
Italy.
In 1921 he started his own College in
Berlin.
In 1922 Archipenko participated in the
First Russian Art Exhibition in the Gallery van Diemen in Berlin together with Aleksandra Ekster, Kazimir Malevich,
Solomon Nikritin, El Lissitzky and others.
In 1923 he emigrated to USA. In 1929 he took American citizenship.
In 1923 Archipenko participated in an exhibition of
Russian Paintings and Sculpture.
In 1934 he designed the Ukrainian pavilion in
Chicago.
In 1936 Archipenko participated in an exhibition
Cubism and Abstract Art in New York, numerous exhibitions in
Europe and US.
Alexander Archipenko died on Feb. 25,
1964 in
New York.
Associated with the
cubist movement, Archipenko departed from the neo-classical sculpture of his time and used
negative space to create a new way of looking at the human figure, showing a number of views of the subject simultaneously. He is known for introducing sculptural voids, and for his inventive mixing of genres throughout his career: devising 'sculpto-paintings', and later experimenting with materials such as clear
acrylic and
terra cotta.
The Addison Gallery of American Art (Andover, Massachusetts), the
Art Institute of Chicago, the
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art (Northwestern University, Illinois), Brigham Young University Museum of Art (Utah), Chi-Mei Museum (Taiwan), the
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the
Guggenheim Museum (New York City), the
Hermitage Museum, the
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington D.C.), the
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Indiana University Art Museum (Bloomington), the
Los Angeles County Museum, the Maier Museum of Art (Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Virginia), the
Milwaukee Art Museum, the
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Alabama), the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the
Museum of Modern Art (New York City), the
Nasher Sculpture Center (Dallas, Texas), the
National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), the
National Museums and Galleries of Wales, the
North Carolina Museum of Art, the
Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena, California), the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice), the
Phillips Collection (Washington D.C.), the
Portland Museum of Art (Maine), the San Antonio Art League Museum (Texas), the
San Diego Museum of Art (California), the
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery (Lincoln, Nebraska), the
Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington D.C.), Städel Museum (Frankfurt), the
Tate Gallery, the
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Von der Heydt-Museum (Wuppertal, Germany) and the
Walker Art Center (Minnesota) are among the public collections holding works by Alexander Archipenko.
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