Klucis studied at the Riga Art School from 1912 to 1915 when he was drafted into the army. In 1917 he went to Moscow and studied at the Vkhutemas under Malevich and A. Pevsner. He married the artist Valentina Kulagina and taught from 1924 to 1930 color theory at the Moscow Vkhutemas. On January 17 he was arrested and and executed.