Архипенко, Александр Порфирович

Sculptor, graphic artist

Born Kiev, 30 May 1887

Died New York, 25 February 1964

Arkhipenko entered the Kiev art school in 1902, but was expelled in 1905 for criticising the instructors for their artistic conservatism. He went to Moscow in 1906, but left Russia permanently two years later. He briefly studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, then joined other expatriate artists of La Ruche. He exhibited at the Salon des lndépendants from 1910, at the Salon de la Section d'Or in 1912 and 1920, and in a number of exhibitions in both Europe and America. He founded art schools in Paris in 1912 and Berlin in 1921. He emigrated to the United States in 1923, became a citizen in 1929,opened several schools and lectured and taught at both art schools and universities. He was primarily a sculptor, creating highly stylised and simplified three-dimensional images of women which have great beauty. He devised a motor-driven construction which could display a variety of image formats which he called Archipentura and patented in 1927.

1913

1920

1921

1923

1924

1927

1928

1933

1962-63

1974