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Historical Artist - Alexander Archipenko (1887 - 1964)
Born in Kyiv, Alexander Archipenko moved to Paris in 1908 where he first encountered the Cubist
movement through his interaction with Leger. He soon adopted the movement’s style,
becoming one of its leading sculptors. His reputation grew in France and across Europe, notably
Germany before World War I interrupted his career. In 1921, he re-entered the art scene with a
successful solo exhibition in the United States. Archipenko spent the following two years in
Berlin before moving to the United States, gaining citizenship in 1928. He taught across the
country, but mainly in New York City where he ran a sculpture school from 1939 until his death
in 1964.
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.
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