Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko[a] (May 30 [O.S. May 18] 1887 – February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian-Americanavant-gardeartist,sculptor, andgraphic artist, active in France and the United States.[1][2][3][4][5][6] He was one of the first to apply the principles ofCubism to architecture, analyzing human figures into geometrical forms.[7]
La Vie Familiale (Family Life), 1912, height approx. 6 feet (1.8 m). Exhibited at the 1912Salon d'Automne, Paris and the 1913Armory Show in New York City, Chicago and Boston. Photograph fromComœdia Illustré (1912) of the original sculpture, later accidentally destroyed
Alexander Archipenko was born inKyiv (Russian Empire, nowUkraine) in 1887, to Porfiry Antonowych Archipenko and Poroskowia Vassylivna Machowa Archipenko; he was the younger brother ofEugene Archipenko.
From 1902 to 1905 he attended theKyiv Art School (KKhU). In 1906 he continued his education in the arts atSerhiy Svetoslavsky (Kyiv), and later that year had an exhibition there withAlexander Bogomazov. He then moved toMoscow where he had a chance to exhibit his work in some group shows.
In 1912, Archipenko had his first personal exhibition at theMuseum Folkwang atHagen inGermany, and from 1912 to 1914 he was teaching at his own Art School inParis.
In 1923, he emigrated to the United States.[8] He became a U.S. citizen in 1929. In 1933 he exhibited at the Ukrainian pavilion inChicago as part of theCentury of Progress World's Fair. Archipenko contributed the most to the success of the Ukrainian pavilion. His works occupied one room and were valued at $25,000.[11]
In 1936 Archipenko participated in an exhibitionCubism and Abstract Art inNew York as well as numerous exhibitions acrossEurope and other places in the U.S. He was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters in 1962.[12]
Alexander Archipenko died on February 25, 1964, in New York City.[8] He is interred atWoodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.
Recumbent Woman Plate circa 1930 by Alexander Archipenko.Statuette, 1916(center)Jean Metzinger, c.1913,Le Fumeur (Man with Pipe), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; (left) Alexander Archipenko, 1914,Danseuse du Médrano (Médrano II), (right) Archipenko, 1913,Pierrot-carrousel,Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Published in Le Petit Comtois, 13 March 1914
Archipenko, along with the French-Hungarian sculptorJoseph Csaky, exhibited at the first public manifestations ofCubism in Paris; the Salon des Indépendants and Salon d'Automne, 1910 and 1911, being the first, afterPablo Picasso,[13] to employ the Cubist style in three dimensions.[8][14] Archipenko departed from theneo-classical sculpture of his time, using faceted planes andnegative 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 having introducied sculptural voids, and for his inventive mixing of genres throughout his career: devising 'sculpto-paintings', and later experimenting with materials such as clearacrylic andterra cotta. Inspired by the works of Pablo Picasso andGeorges Braque, he is also credited for introducing the collage to wider audiences with hisMedrano series.[15][16]
The sculptorAnn Weaver Norton apprenticed with Archipenko for a number of years.[17]
Archipenko's 14.5-foot (4.4 m) tallcubist statue ofKing Solomon is installed at theUniversity of Pennsylvania campus. Archipenko began work on a smaller prototype of the statue in 1964, but died before the work was finished, leaving his wife to oversee its completion. The full-sized statue was completed in 1968 and was donated to the university in 1985.[19]
The jubilee coin of the NBU is dedicated to Oleksandr Arkhipenko
During his lifetime Arkhipenko maintained close ties with the Ukrainian community in the USA, participating in the creation of monuments to Shevchenko, Frank and Prince Volodymyr on American soil.[20]
On May 30, 2017, Ukraine celebrated the 130 years since the birth of Oleksandr Arkhipenko.[21]
On November 9, 2017, the National Bank of Ukraine circulated a 2-hryvnia commemorative coin dedicated to the artist. His portrait is depicted on the reverse of the coin.[22]
Dancers (Der Tanz), 1912, original plaster, 24 in. This first version ofDancers was illustrated on the front cover ofThe Sketch, 29 October 1913, London
^P. Lagasse, & Columbia University."Archipenko, Alexander".The Columbia Encyclopedia (8th ed.). Columbia University Press. Retrieved2023-02-16.Ukrainian-American sculptor
^Oxford illustrated encyclopedia. Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. 1985–1993. p. 21.ISBN0-19-869129-7.OCLC11814265.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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