Russian Art - Suprematism, Constructivism, Kinetic Sculpture


In Malevich's later development of Dynamic Suprematism (1915), smaller geometric forms are superimposed upon larger elements. Consequently, a sense of floating movement becomes more evident than in the previous works, and a much greater spatial tug is established between the shapes, although the white ground remains consistent with the earlier paintings.

Influenced by Malevich's command of dynamic non-figurative design, he expanded the application of these principles to different materials, from chunky constructions in wood that are as spare as Minimal art - or the paintings of Mondrian - to hanging constructions that introduced physical movement - purely abstract kinetic sculpture. Movement soon became a dominant feature in Constructivist art.


above: Kasimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition, c. 1916


Tatlin's non-representational Corner Counter Reliefs (1915) concentrated on physical matter by employing 'real materials in real space' (such as wood, metal and string) and by exploiting the inherent properties and colour of each substance.

A rather different notion of construction was developed by the sculptor Naum Gabo (1890-1977). During the limited years he spent in Russia after the Revolution, Gabo actively explored the dematerialization of traditional mass and volume; he investigated dynamic forms in space, and even kinetic possibilities for sculpture, as in Kinetic Construction No. 1 (1920), where a single metal rod was attached to a small motor, making it vibrate into a pattern.

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