Lily Balasanova and Serge Klevtikh are an artist duo from Moscow, Russia renown for their mixed media works of heavily populated urban areas.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
Both of the artists studied together in college at the Moscow Academy of Textiles. Balasanova and Kolevatykh both earned M.F.A.s in 1984.
The duo also served as artists in residence in the Netherlands.
The duo have had works placed in private and corporate collections in Russian and United States.
Though the duo creates wonderful abstract works the designs and finished products of the this pair are remarkable. They touch several styles of art including Op Art, Pop Art, and Surrealism. Their urban landscapes even have a sculptural feel to them.
Alexander Bogomazov was a Russian painter renown for his own style which combined elements of Cubist and Futurism. Alexander Bogomazov was born in Yampil, Russian Empire in the year 1880. The first picture in the gallery is a self portrait by the artist.
Bogomazov attended school in Russia at the Art Academy of Kiev. The artist also knew world renown painter Alexander Archipenko ( I have already done a post on this artist!) One of the first exhibitions he had was with Archipenko.
Below a great selection of works by Bogomazov:
The artist also taught at the collegiate level in Russia. Also in Russia he taught at school for the deaf and mute.
Alexander Bogomazov passed away in 1930, at the age of 50 years old.
Price range information: Charcoal works start at $40,000. His record price for an oil painting is $1.4 million.
With his emphasis on labor and the common man Bogomazov reminds me of Jacob Lawrence with his compositions and bold use of color.
Alexey Brodovitch was an twentieth century Russian/ American painter and photographer who was modern in his photography. Alexey Brodovitch was born in Oligotchi, Russian Empire in the year 1898.
His family was well off as his father was a doctor. Unfortunately his family had to flee their homeland to war and the upcoming Bolshevik revolution. Eventually the family would settle in Paris, France.
Brodovitch took a wife and found himself a job for the first time in life painting houses. He would take art classes and through his connections with other artists also earned money as the painter of ballet backgrounds. During this period he also would design textiles and jewelry.
The artist taught many well known modern artists keys to graphic design and advertising. In the United States most advertising art was very romantic in nature and linked to ideas from centuries past. Artists like Jessie Wilcox Smith were very popular. Brodovitch helped to usher in a modern era of American design that studied advertising examples that were popular in Europe, rather than the romantic realism.
Some of his students included famous photographers Diane Arbus and Richard Avedon.
In this clip a brief bio on Alexey Brodovitch with some examples of his work:
Alexey Brodovitch passed away in 1971.
Price range information: Works range from $5,000 to $50,000.
The artist was among the first to incorporate text and photos in magazine layouts. He was also an outstanding painter of landscapes in an abstract style. Add to his resume the many students who went on to have professional art careers and Brodovitch was a true master artist of the 20th century.
If you enjoy photographs and enjoy looking at photographs in sequences be sure and check out my post on Duane Michals. Michals uses photographs to tell short visual stories.
Lyubov or Liubov Popova was a Russian artist who was part of the Constructivist and Cubist movements. Lyubov Popova was born in the Russian Empire in the year 1889. Her family was wealthy and owned a textile factory. Popova was a painter and collage artist. Popova emphasized geometric shapes and colour in her work.
Popova studied privately with artists Stanislav Zhukovsky and Konstantin Yuon. Another influence was artist Vladimir Taitlin.
Popova also worked as a commercial artist producing posters during her country’s Civil War.
The artist also spent a great deal of time teaching contemporary artistic theory and practice. She also designed textiles for production in her own factory. These textiles replaced the normal floral and botanical fabric with her signature style of design using bold colour and geometric shapes.
Below a wonderful montage of works by Liubov Popova:
Popova’s painting output severely slowed as the 1920s began. Popova had a son and from her child contracted scarlet fever and died in 1924.
Price range information: Works range from $20,000 to $1 million. Popova worked in oils, crayons, and watercolors.
Mark Rothko was a Russian born artist famous for his abstract expressionist style of painting. Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk, Russian Empire in the year 1903. His father was a pharmacist and although his family was Jewish, Rothko was the only child to attend the traditional Hebrew school called a cheder.
Rothko enjoyed emphasizing color in his work. Rothko stated that traditional painters began with a drawing, he began with color first.
The artist emigrated to the United States from Russia in 1913. His father was worried that he sons may be drafted into the army, and also for the anti Jewish sentiment that was taking over Russia at that time.
The artist attended Yale University but didn’t feel at ease at the college. Rothko thought that the environment was too elitist and racist for him so he quit in his second year.
In this clip we visit a show featuring Mark Rothko with our artistic amigo the great James Kalm:
Rothko was working in the garment district and visited the Art Student’s League of New York. This inspired him to enroll in the New York School of Design. Two influences for Rothko were Max Weber and Arshille Gorky.
Below a montage of works by Mark Rothko:
Mark Rothko passed away at the age of 66 in the year 1970.
Price range information: Works range from $100,000 for a print to more than $86 million for an original acrylic painting. Below we view Rotko’s work Orange, Red, Yellow that set a record for the artist in 2012:
Serge Poliakoff was a Russian born French painter renown for his modernist style. Serge Poliakoff was born in Moscow, Russia in the year 1900. The artist was the thirteenth of fourteenth children. His father bred horses for the army so his family was well off financially.
Poliakoff briefly attended the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpting before dropping out and moving to Constantinople. He was able to earn good money as a musician.
As a musician his specialty was the guitar. Poliakoff played a uniquely shaped guitar called the balalaika.
In 1923, the artist moved to Paris, France.
In 1962, the artist became a French citizen.
Below a montage of works by Poliakoff set to music:
The artist was not only a great painter, but later in his career became taken with ceramics.
Poliakoff passed away in 1969.
Price range information: Works range from lithograph prints and etchings starting at $8,000 to original oils which can reach $800,000. Works in gouache range from $10,000 to $140,000.
Leon Bakst was an internationally renown painter, costume, and theater set designer. Leon Bakst was born in the year 1866 in what is now the country of Belarus.
The artist attended college at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Art in Russia.
Here a large selection of drawings and paintings that show Bakst’s skill at painting the figure and remarkable clothing:
Leon Bakst passed away in 1924.
In this clip we view more works by Bakst:
Price range information: Bakst worked frequently in watercolor and gouache. Prices range from $10,000 to $750,000.
If you enjoy the art of costumes and set designer be sure and check out my post on Erte, my favorite theater set and costume designer.
Alexander Liberman was a painter and sculptor renown for his abstract works. Alexander Liberman was born in Kiev, Ukraine in the year 1912. The artist was educated in Russia, England, and France but didn’t study art.
Over his career Liberman worked for Conde Nast magazine in various artistic and design positions within the company. He ended as an editorial director for the magazine.
He took up painting and sculpture in the 1950s.
Liberman is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Below a long interview with Liberman talking about various works he created including sculptures:
In this clip we view a sculpture by Alexander Liberman:
The artist became an American citizen in 1946.
Alexander Liberman passed away in 1999 at the age of 87 years old.
Price range information: Works range from $5,000 to $50,000. Liberman worked in oils, enamel, acrylics, watercolor, lithography, and photography.
Morris Kantor was born in Minsk, Russia in the year 1896. His family emigrated to the United States in 1906. Kantor painted in many styles including Futurist, Modernist, and Cubist styles. I enjoy his works most that are portraits done in a manner that is very expressive when it comes to the viewer regarding the emotions of the sitter.
The photograph in the gallery is the artist himself.
For his artistic education Kantor attended the Independent School of Art which was based out of New York City. The school closed down long ago.
Kantor also taught at the Art Student’s League of New York City and Cooper Union College also located in New York City.
Kantor was also involved in the governments WPA program.
Morris Kantor passed away in 1974.
The artist is part of many public and private collections including the Smithsonian.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
This artist I could also classify as a Social Realist painter. Like many artists who worked in the 1920s and 1930s Kantor possessed a great talent for capturing the emotions of people.
Another artist able to capture the gloomy feelings of people was the great Kathe Kolwitz.
Leon Gaspard was born in Vitebsk, Russia Empire in the year 1882. Gaspard was renowned for his paintings of landscapes and small towns of Russia and Asia. Gaspard enjoyed making works with large crowds of people. For his mediums of choice Gaspard worked in oils for the most part but did use watercolor, gouache, and pastels in addition.
Price range information: Works range from $5,000 to $800,000.
His father was a salesman of rugs and furs. His mother loved to play the piano.
For his artistic education Gaspard attended the Academy Julien located in Paris, France. Gaspard also studied with famed figure painter Willaim Adolphe- Bougereau.Whilst in school his parent’s passed away and though he quit studying, he was far enough advanced as artist to find a dealer to represent his work.
Gaspard met and married an American woman who was a professional ballerina. He joined the French Aviation Corps and was injured in the field.
The couple moved back to the United States. The couple lived in New York City before relocating to the Taos, New Mexico area.
Once in Taos, New Mexico the artist flourished and gained much attention and fame for his paintings of his native Russian homeland.
Leon Gaspard passed away in 1964.
What I love about the Russian Impressionist painters is their color palette. The sky is full of amazing blue grey color and clothes are a great compliment to the skies.
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