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1918
Painting
oil on wooden panel
93.0 x 51.5cm sight (irreg.); 99.1 x 57.0 x 4.7cm frame (irreg.)
Purchased 1997
416.1997
Art Gallery of NSW, Level 2, Impressionism & 20th Century European Art Galleries
Further information
The composition is painted in transparent oils over a wooden panel possibly taken from a piece of furniture. The curvature of the panel and the grain of the wood have both been incorporated into the design.
This use of a found panel and its textures makes it a very beautiful object and an outstanding example of Russian Constructivism. The composition of dynamic diagonals and shallow arcs penetrating cosmic spheres has surprisingly Cubist connections. It is reminiscent of Picasso and Braque's guitars in Analytic Cubist painting. The use of wood grain enhances this association.
Provenance
Dorothee Altenburg (Germany), 1994-Dec 1997, Germany, Purchased by the AGNSW from Mrs Dorothee Altenburg 1997
Alexander Archipenko (Russia, b.20th century), late 1970s, St Petersburg/Russia, relative of the sculptor Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964)
Friedman Collection (Russia), St Petersburg/Russia
Bibliography
Scholarly/Book; The avant-garde icon: Russian avant-garde art and the icon painting tradition; Andrew Spira; 2008, 93 (colour illus.), 'The iconic techniques of the avant-garde' pg.46-125, no.45
General/Book; Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook; Bruce James (Australia), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940); 1999, 57 (colour illus.), 'Western Collection: Paintings and Sculpture' by Bruce James, pg. 17-77.
Annual report; Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 1998; Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874); 1998, 8 (colour illus.), 'Director's Statement' by Edmund Capon, pg. 7-8.
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