Sculpture and Installation

Yakov Georgievich Chernikhov was a Soviet architect and graphic artist, author of scientific works on the theory of architecture and a talented teacher. His name is not well known in Ukraine, although he was born in the current Dnepropetrovsk region and lived in Odesa for about ten years, studied at the Higher Art School. Possessing powerful spatial thinking and imagination, Chernikhov devoted his life to creating bold architectural projects in the spirit of Constructivism and became the spokesman for the ideas of the avant-garde of the early 20th century, which influenced many modern architects.

Ellsworth Kelly was an American artist and sculptor, an outstanding figure in post-war abstract art. His paintings with large abstract figures, bold and contrasting combinations of colours, influenced the development of Minimalism, colour field painting and hard-edge painting.

Eduardo Paolozzi was a Scottish artist, designer and sculptor of Italian descent, whose work covers a wide variety of areas of fine art, from large-scale sculptures to the design of fabrics and wallpapers. As an innovative artist, Paolozzi always looked for something fresh, yet unknown in the art. Due to his insatiable thirst for change and constant experiments, his work is heterogeneous and resembles a colourful mosaic, consisting of different styles, motifs, genres and art movements.

Frank Stella is an American artist, the main representative of Minimalism, known for his paintings of a non-standard format and large-scale compositions that combine the features of painting, sculpture and architecture.

An innovative American artist, designer, publisher, filmmaker, producer, writer and collector. Andy Warhol, the founder of the homo universale ideology, was an outstanding personality in contemporary world art in general and the history of pop art in particular. He also entered the history of art as the creator of "commercial pop art".

One of the main artists of American pop art, known for images of stylized female nudes, which were the central theme and subject of close attention of the painter. Drawing inspiration from Abstract Expressionism, especially works of Willem de Kooning, the artist rethought the images and created his unique style, incredibly realistic, alluring and at the same time cold and detached, not affecting the deep feelings of the viewer.

An outstanding Uruguayan artist, sculptor, art theorist and writer Joaquin Torres Garcia lived and worked in Europe for a long time (Spain, France, Italy), for some time in the United States of America. In Barcelona, the artist worked with A. Gaudi; while living in Paris, he collaborated with representatives of Neoplasticism (Piet Mondrian and others), founding the creative group “Circle and Square” with the support of Michel Seophor. Such a wide experience allowed him, returning to his homeland, to become a conductor and propagandist of new art in Uruguay - modernist art movements in general, Cubism and Abstract art in particular.

Sonia Terk-Delaunay (Sarah Ilinitchna Stern), a French avant-garde artist, illustrator, sculptor and designer of Jewish origin was born in Ukraine. The master worked in the styles of cubism, orphism and abstractionism. There are a few facts that eloquently testify to the great significance of her contribution to the development of avant-garde art: she became the first artist whose lifetime exhibition was organized in 1964 in the Louvre, and ten years later she was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. She was among the organizers of the international association "Abstraction-Creation".

Solomon LeWitt, an American artist, sculptor and theorist, played a leading role in the development of Conceptual art and Minimalism. Coming from a family of Russian-Jewish emigrants, he was inspired by the works of Russian avant-garde painters and Constructivists, especially Malevich, whose Black Square served as the basis for the emergence of his unique geometric aesthetics.

Cy Twombly (his real name was Edwin Parker Twombly) was an American painter and sculptor, one of the most incomprehensible artists, whose paintings cause constant debate and discussion in the art world. Most of his works are white canvases, covered with multi-coloured scribbles, lines and chaotic spots. The artist often uses various inscriptions in his works, making them look like urban elemental art of graffiti. Moreover, the name and meaning of the works are referred to ancient myths, classical paintings and cultures of various nationalities.

One of the first and most prominent representatives of Pop Art, which gained wide popularity in the USA in the 1950s and 60s of the 20th century. Roy Lichtenstein became famous for his comic book paintings, each of which reflects various aspects of the life of ordinary Americans. Using simple and understandable images, the artist challenged avant-garde painting, intelligible only to a few, and turned everyday things into real works of art.

Robert Rauschenberg is an innovative artist, one of the most influential American masters of the second half of the 20th century, who gave impetus to the development of Pop art and Conceptual art. Throughout his long career, he experimented with almost all available forms of art, acting as an engraver, designer, sculptor, photographer and even avant-garde musician.

An English artist, one of the founders of the British pop art style. Peter Blake began his career in the post-war period, and the primary goal of his art was to help fellow citizens forget the horrors of war and plunge into a bright and, if possible, carefree, peaceful life.

Marina Abramovic is a Serbian and American artist, famous all over the world thanks to her extraordinary and shocking performances. She is rightfully considered one of the best in her genre, and her ideas related to physical pain and even a threat to life and health make viewers rethink their perception of many things and step far beyond the boundaries of the common understanding of the world and themselves.

An Italian painter and sculptor, author of theoretical works on art. Lucio Fontana is considered the most radical artist after Kazimir Malevich, who managed to bring art to a new round of the development of abstraction and minimalism. The name of Fontana is associated primarily with his cut paintings: the artist unsparingly cut them with a sharp blade or pierced his canvas with a knife. But he did not intend to destroy his works. He just wanted to expand the pictorial space of his painting, to make them voluminous and evoking different associations.

A Hungarian artist and graphic illustrator, sculptor and master of art photography, film theorist and journalist. Born Laszlo Weisz. He was one of the largest figures of the world avant-garde in the first half of the 20th century, as well as the most important representative of the New Vision photo.

Frantisek Kupka was a Czech artist and writer who lived and worked in France for most of his life. He is rightly considered one of the pioneers of abstract painting in the history of fine art and one of the first completely unrepresentative artists. In 1912, he participated in the Golden Section Cubist exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants, exhibiting, among others, the works that are considered the first abstract paintings.

Gustavs Klucis was a painter, graphic artist, illustrator and photographer. He entered the history of art as a pioneer of photomontage. In the world of art, he is considered one of the four artists who invented the subgenre of political photomontage in 1918. Three other names are known more widely - German Dadaists Hannah Hoch and Raoul Hausmann, Russian avant-garde artist El Lissitzky.

Американский скульптор шведского происхождения, выдающийся представитель поп-арта. Клас Тур Олденбург начал свою карьеру в Нью-Йорке, где он участвовал в многочисленных хэппенингах и перформансах с такими художниками, как Джим Дайн, Аллан Капроу и Джордж Сигал. Он стал неотъемлемой частью движения поп-арт в начале 1960-ых годов, противопоставляя свои простые и привычные для восприятия работы сложной эстетике абстрактного экспрессионизма. Выставив в витрине «ненастоящего» магазина «ненастоящие» вещи, созданные из самых неожиданных материалов, художник по-настоящему удивил публику и мгновенно приобрел широкую известность.

American artist, sculptor and designer Keith Haring was mostly known for his graffiti paintings attracting with their rhythm, sincere and actual style.

A modern American artist and sculptor. Lives and works with his wife, artist Charlene von Hale, in New York, as well as in Martha, Texas. The art of Christopher Wool includes art movements related to pop art, abstraction, and post-conceptual concepts.

Yoko Ono is an English and American innovative artist, writer, and musician of Japanese descent. Yoko became known to the general public largely thanks to her marriage to John Lennon, a musician and member of the legendary Beatles band. However, long before this union, she clearly showed her talent in Conceptual art, becoming one of the pioneers of installation and performance.

An outstanding French artist, sculptor and photographer. Despite his short artistic career (1954-1962), he is rightly considered one of the most significant innovators of post-war European art.

Donald Judd was one of the most famous American abstract sculptors of the late 20th century, a designer and art theorist. He is the leading representative of Minimalism, although he himself never referred himself in this movement. Judd did not call himself a sculptor, believing that his art fundamentally does not fit the definition of sculpture since his works were not made by him personally but were made of ready-made objects.Donald Judd described his creations as “a simple expression of complex thought” and composed them from industrial materials. A characteristic feature of the artist’s style is focusing not on the depicted object itself but on the space that he creates around himself. The most famous series of his works “Specific Objects” and the vertically placed “Racks” demonstrate his radical approach to modern sculpture, which fundamentally changes the very essence of this art form. Donald Judd explained his complicated abstract art in numerous theoretical works. He published a number of essays, as well as two volumes of the Complete Works in 1976 and 1986.Since 1970, the artist began to create sculptural compositions for installation on open air. Few people know that the popular “loft” style of interior appeared largely thanks to Donald Judd. He was the first to convert an industrial building in New York into a living space and a studio, where he worked and exhibited his sculptures. Here he worked for 25 years, and after the artist’s death a museum was organized in the building, which not only demonstrates his creations but also allows visitors to understand the very essence and history of such an art movement as Minimalism.

An American artist and sculptor, one of the most popular and expensive masters of our time. Jeff Koons is a representative of Neo-pop art, which is a continuation of Pop art and focuses on the interests and needs of modern society.The artist’s works are mainly installations and sculptures. The subjects of art for Koons are everyday things, which in the author’s interpretation become symbols of a certain phenomenon that occupies the minds of ordinary people. The most famous works of the artist are brilliant metal sculptures made in the form of balloons. The most well-known one is the “Balloon Dog” figure, which attracts with its simplicity and festive mood.Jeff Koons treats his work as a commercial project, distributing and advertising his art as a special type of product. According to the author himself, his work does not express any deep ideas and subtext. They are a beautiful but meaningless thing, for which the artist is often called the "master of kitsch". Many art lovers openly hate Jeff Koons for selling tasteless sculptures for a great deal of money and often using works by other authors to create his statues. However, despite all this, the works of the American sculptor are in high demand from the public, which forces art critics to change their ideas about what contemporary fine art looks like.

Joseph Kosuth is an American contemporary artist, one of the pioneers and a vivid representative of Conceptual art. He is known throughout the world for his installations; in particular, his composition "One and Three Chairs" has become a classic example of the style. As a 23-year-old student, he received a grant from the Cassandra Foundation with the “blessing” of master Marcel Duchamp to implement his innovative ideas.The artist was the first to deeply explore the relations between ideas, images, and words used to describe them. He used words instead of visual images of any other kind, that is, he completely excluded objects in order to focus on the meaning conveyed exclusively by the language. The awards given to the artist most eloquently speak of the recognition of Joseph Kosuth's unique talent. The main ones are the Brandeis and Frederic Weisman Prizes, the Menzione d'Onore at the Venice Biennale, the title of Cavalier from the French government, the highest award of the Republic of Austria for achievements in science and culture. Since 2014, the neon installation of Kosuth is a part of a permanent exhibition at the Paris Louvre.Many of the installations of Kosuth included excerpts from literature and works on philosophy and psychology. The quotes are filled with an important universal meaning – this is how the artist makes his audience reflect on the problems of personal identity, poverty and racism, loneliness and the lessons of history. Avoiding any clear or too explicit comments of his own, Joseph Kosuth realizes himself both as a modern artist, philosopher and moralist.

A German artist, one of the most famous and expensive contemporary painters. Gerhard Richter showed his talent in several styles of fine art. His photorealistic portraits with blurry contours are exhibited at the most famous museums in the world, and abstract canvases are sold at auctions for a lot of money.Starting his career in East Germany, the artist worked in a realistic style; however, having become acquainted with the works of contemporary artists Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, he sharply changed his painting towards avant-garde art. A few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, he fled to West Berlin, where he started to search for his place in art. Based on photographs and products of popular culture, Richter created a vivid style, which included both realistic and completely abstract expression.In addition to painting, Gerhard Richter is known as the author of several major design projects. In 2007, he created the famous "Pixel Stained Glass" in Cologne Cathedral, which got the most controversial reviews. Instead of traditional biblical scenes, the artist created an impressive mosaic of multi-coloured glass, which consists of 11 thousand 250 coloured squares of eighty shades. It is interesting that the artist performed the work as a gift to the cathedral, without taking a dime for his painstaking labour.

Guy Orlando Rose was a prominent representative of California Impressionism (also called the California open-air school).The future artist was born into the wealthy family of Senator Leonard J. Rose. His career began quite early, when, having been wounded while hunting, young Guy Rose began to be interested in painting.An admirer of the artistic talent of Claude Monet, Guy Rose worked mainly in the genres of landscape, including urban, and portrait, was a good draftsman. In the canvases of Guy Rose, there is liveliness, naturalness and play of light peculiar to Impressionism. The artist used a rich color scheme, painted landscapes, female portraits. Several times exhibited his works at the Paris Salon, participated in exhibitions in his homeland, including the World Exhibition in San Francisco, where he received a silver medal.

A German Neo-expressionist artist and avant-garde sculptor, one of the founders of the New Wild group. The real name of the artist is Kern, and he took the pseudonym from the name of his native town of Deutschbazelitz, located near Dresden.The artist’s “calling card”, which makes his paintings instantly recognizable, is human figures located upside down on the canvas. Georg Baselitz began depicting people in this way around 1969.The uncompromising and rebellious spirit of the future famous artist led to the fact that Georg Baselitz was expelled from the art school; his works “What a night fell” and “Naked Man” were banned as obscene, and seized by the police during his first exhibition.Forced to work in the official style of socialist realism while living in East Berlin, the artist switched to abstract art after moving to the western part of the city. Gradually, Baselitz rejected both movements and began to revive German Expressionism, which flourished before the war but was objectionable to the Nazi government. The human figure took the central place in the work of Baselitz, and the paintings became scandalous and defiant.Georg Baselitz played a key role in the development of German art after the Second World War, expressing national identity with the help of symbolic and expressive images.The artist's works were often criticized because of their repulsive and unaesthetic content; however, at the same time, they inspired a lot of European and American artists, contributing to the revival of figurative art.Today, Georg Baselitz is an internationally recognized artist whose work is one of the most expensive works of contemporary painters and sculptors. He continues to work tirelessly, creating a kind of "remake" of his compositions of past years.

A famous British sculptor of Indian descent, a member of the New British Sculpture group, the author of modernist works in many large cities around the world.Rethinking the rational approach to minimalism and the provocative sound of Conceptual art, the artist added his vivid emotions, unique worldview and the charm of primitive art.The sculptures of Anish Kapoor are a peculiar game of forms, colours and textures. His work, made of a variety of materials, combines the desire for freedom, harmony and balance of objects in space. The famous work of the artist - "Cloud Gate" in Chicago nicknamed the "bean" is a vivid example of the inventiveness of its author. It creates an alternative reality and attracts viewers by its "dialogue with the cosmos". Anish Kapoor is a laureate of various contests and winner of several major awards in the field of fine art. During his long creative career, the artist was awarded the Order of the British Empire and created a large-scale art installation in the United Kingdom. The exhibition of his works became the most popular in the history of the state.Anish Kapoor does not cease to strive for discoveries and impressive finds. He has all the ideas and original ideas that no doubt surprised and “blew” the whole world.

An American artist and theorist, the central figure of the avant-garde of the 60s, the discoverer of the happening - a form of art in which the primary attention is paid to the process of creation. Allan Kaprow appreciated the moment of action in painting, putting it above the result.The fleeting, often quick and spontaneous actions of Kaprow erase the line between art and everyday life and immerse participants in the work, involving them in the creative process and destroying the notorious “fourth wall” between the work and the audience.In his theoretical writings, Allan Kaprow said that after the discoveries of Jackson Pollock and other Abstract Expressionists, painting could no longer exist in its original form. It must go beyond the canvas and move into everyday life.The master called himself “non-artist” and his works “anti-paintings”. “Life is much more interesting than art”, said Kaprow and created events outside galleries and museums: in courtyards, apartments, streets, squares and parking lots. Sometimes his works are even absurd - such as building houses from ice under the scorching California sun; they change the very perception of art and turn everyday life processes into creative acts.The principles of the creation of happening, which Allan Kaprow outlined in his work “How to Make a Happening”, were enthusiastically accepted by many post-war artists who tried to take a fresh look at modern creative methods. Thanks to the discoveries of the American innovator, such styles as installation, performance and conceptual art were further developed.

An American contemporary conceptual sculptor and artist. The art of Bruce Nauman includes a wide range of creative interests: performance and installation, photography and art video, works for the media, printing and industrial production. In all areas, the artist was attracted by the nature of communication, problems of the language and the role of the artist as a manipulator of visual symbols by the means of communication.Nauman received numerous awards in several areas of artistic practice and an honorary doctorate in arts from the American Art Institute. His works are widely represented around the world at the expositions of the most prestigious museums and galleries. The monumental creations of Bruce Nauman inspired many other artists in the second half of the 20th century and continues to be in demand in the 21st century. In 2004, Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the art world. In 2006, according to the rating of Artfacts.net, Bruce Nauman was number one among living artists.

An outstanding British sculptor, one of the key figures in the avant-garde art of the country. Sir Anthony Caro was known for his innovative solutions, which were much ahead of their time and set the stage for future changes in three-dimensional art. Being for some time an assistant to his famous compatriot Henry Moore, the sculptor became a follower of his undertakings in the field of avant-garde sculpture, expanding the framework of the traditional idea of ​​this art.Caro's most famous works are large abstract sculptures painted in one bright colour and standing on the ground, without any pedestals, allowing the viewer to take part in the composition. The sculptor created his works in accordance with the environment in which they were supposed to be installed. He always insisted on the direct connection of architecture with sculpture, and even coined a special term for works that are at the junction of these two types of art - “Sculpitecture”.Of great importance were also the many years of Caro’s teaching activity. His unconventional approach to form and space opened up new possibilities and had a great influence on young sculptors. Among his students at different times there were such outstanding personalities as Philip King, Barry Flanagan and Richard Long, called the "new generation" of English sculpture.

A Swiss sculptor and lithographer, artist and graphic artist, collector of archaic and ancient works of art, a prominent representative of the avant-garde in his country and Europe. The artist spent more than a decade in Paris, became a member of a Surrealist group organized and headed by Andre Breton. The latter included one of Serge Brignoni's lithographs in the famous illustrated book “Surrealism in 1947”.The artist as a representative of the Paris School was a participant in the Venice Biennale and prestigious international exhibitions of surreal art in England and America. His contribution to the development of avant-garde art in Switzerland is considerable.Close to Surrealism at the artistic and intellectual level, Serge Brignoni used complex metamorphoses of the image of the world. Veins and branches, eyes and viscera, sea creatures and endless cosmic landscapes, spaces and figures, animated by floral fragments, show his attention to nature. A wide range of methods he used to create works of art - sculpture, collage, engraving, painting and drawing - gives S. Brignoni’s works the status of “analog biology”.In 1985, the Swiss artist donated his most valuable and vast collection of art from Oceania and Indonesia to Lugano - in this city, the Museum of Non-European Cultures “Villa Heleneum” was opened four years later.

An outstanding French sculptor, the founder of modern sculpture. Auguste Rodin is rightfully considered the greatest creator of his time, who destroyed the stereotypes in his work and became a model for subsequent generations of sculptors around the world.The unique ability to convey the plasticity and lines of the human body, as well as the complex experiences of the soul, were the main features of the sculptor’s manner. Rodin's work was strikingly different from the traditional canons of Academism. His work expressing the free energy of life and vivid emotions, as well as intimate moments, met with misunderstanding and criticism of contemporaries. Only at the end of the life of the master, his works were appreciated and great success.For a long period, Auguste Rodin worked on a large order - the entrance to the building of the new museum of decorative art in Paris, which was called the "Gates of Hell". The master went so deep into his work that he continued to refine and redo it for eight years. Despite the fact that the museum’s project was never implemented, the elements of the gate, including the famous Thinker, became separate works of art that won the hearts of millions of people with the naturalness of their plasticity and openness of feelings.

An Italian painter, sculptor and graphic artist of Jewish-French descent, who lived and worked in Paris. One of the most famous artists of the early 20th century, who developed his characteristic style with a clean line, a meditative atmosphere and with elongated shapes.Modigliani originally intended to be a sculptor. Encouraged and inspired by Brancusi, for almost five years of his short creative career, he began carving his heads out of stone, but dust of limestone and sandstone damaged his lungs, weakened by tuberculosis, and coughing fits did not let him work. In addition, during the First World War, marble was almost gone; the stone became expensive and was inaccessible to the poor master. The artist started painting but did not change his style - his portraits are as recognizable as sculptures.The artist’s works were almost unsuccessful during his life - at two exhibitions, he sold only a few sculptures. Having become extremely popular after his early death, a few (about 30) stone sculptures remain so even now. One of the “Heads” by Amadeo Modigliani, sold by the Christie auction house for more than 43 million euros, became an absolute record for sculpture. In the study of art, the understandable term “Modigliani style” is used; it is rather conditionally related to Expressionism.

A French Catalan-born sculptor, master of tapestry, painter and book illustrator. He was a member of the Nabis group created by Paul Gauguin's followers, although he did not use their sculpting techniques.Maillol appeared in the second and main period of his creative career as one of the most original sculptors and is considered an author who made a revolutionary "return" to classical sculpture at a time when art had a vector of movement towards Abstractionism. He strove for harmony, proportionality, simplification of visual forms, gravitating towards grandeur at the end of the 19th century.Some also catalog him as the forerunner of such sculptors as Henry Moore (blog entry made on November 15, 2009). Although, if we delve into his biography, we will know him as a versatile artist who dominated all disciplines, although he finally found a way to his style in sculpture.Thanks to the efforts of a friend and muse of the master, Dina Verni, who throughout her life was engaged in propaganda of the work of Aristide Maillol, in 1995, the museum of the sculptor, master of decorative and applied art and painter was opened in Paris. She presented 18 sculptures to the French people on condition that they will be permanently exhibited in the Tuileries Gardens.Aristide Maillol's humanistic in essence and execution art had a huge impact on the work of many of the largest sculptors of the 20th century.

An outstanding Russian sculptor and graphic artist, who had earned the glory of “Russian Rodin” even before the revolution. Sergey Konenkov was a master of monumental compositions, portrait and plot genres, masterfully worked in wood, using folk carving techniques. As a portrait painter, he created a whole gallery of images of his contemporaries (F. Chaliapin, M. Gorky, S. Rachmaninov, A. Dovzhenko, K. Tsiolkovsky, V. Mayakovsky, S. Yesenin), compatriot writers (I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, Saltykov-Shchedrin). His outstanding monuments to A.S. Pushkin, V.I. Surikov and others are also known.Sergey Timofeevich lived and worked in the United States of America for more than 20 years, mainly in New York. To order of the Princeton University Administration, in 1935, he created a bust of the great scientist Albert Einstein, with whom he was friends; later he created Einstein’s full-length sculpture.During the war, the sculptor was an active member of the American Committee for Russian Assistance. In 1945, a ship was chartered for Konenkov and his works by order of Stalin.The sculptor, who became a full member of the Academy of Arts in the pre-revolutionary 1916, after returning to his homeland, became an academician, People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, and an honorary citizen of the city of Smolensk and laureate of state prizes.The sculptures and drawings of the master are in the leading museums of Russia, in several museums and government agencies in the United States and other countries of the world. Works are constantly exhibited at the memorial Moscow House Museum “Creative Workshop of Konenkov”, and the Smolensk Museum of Sculpture opened at the insistence of the artist, who gave a large collection of works to his native city.

An American sculptor and designer of Japanese descent. Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prominent and famous sculptors of the twentieth century in the United States. Throughout his life, he was engaged in art experiments, created original sculptures, design of furniture and ceramics, architectural and landscape projects. His extraordinary and bold style combined traditional and avant-garde elements, setting a new standard for contemporary art.Noguchi did not lose touch with his historical homeland and spent a lot of time in Japan, opened a studio there. The artist regularly traveled around the world. The harmony of Japanese gardens and ceramics, the subtlety and grace of Chinese calligraphy, the gracefulness of Italian marble sculptures, the monumentality and brilliant simplicity of the art of the Indians of ancient America were reflected in his work.The sculptor's work was widely appreciated in the United States in 1938 after he created a large sculpture symbolizing freedom of the press for the Associated Press building in New York. This work was the first of many public facilities installed in various cities around the world. The works of Isamu Noguchi, from children's playgrounds, city squares and squares to complete garden complexes, reflects his faith in the social significance of sculpture, which makes art accessible to everyone.

An American artist, designer and avant-garde filmmaker. Joseph Cornell worked primarily in installation and assembly techniques, using everyday things in unexpected combinations. He had no art education, worked as a seller of fabrics and showed his artistic talents only by the age of thirty, creating a new and interesting style in contemporary art, which had many followers.The impact of Cornell's works on the subconscious and mysteriousness makes him related to Surrealists and Dadaists. However, the self-taught artist never referred himself to any of the modernist or avant-garde movements. He led a very secluded life on the outskirts of the city with his sick brother and mother; rarely spoke in public, but maintained friendly relations with most modern American artists. Cornell was a deeply religious man and an ardent supporter of "Christian science", which left a significant imprint on his entire work.Joseph Cornell is best known for his original installations, where in a small often closed on all sides space everything acquires an entirely different meaning and causes a wide variety of associations. The artist’s most famous works are glass boxes in which he placed various objects: old photographs, newspaper scraps, and other small items. These “shadow boxes,” as the author himself called them, had a great influence on the development of installation, assemblage, and other types of contemporary art.

A Swiss sculptor, painter and graphic artist, one of the largest sculptors of the 20th century, a vivid representative of the avant-garde.Giacometti, who studied the art of painting and sculpture in Geneva and Paris, experimented with cubism and futurism, was interested in primitive sculpture technique. For some time, he worked with a surreal French group and created strange objects testifying to cruelty, interest in eroticism and at the same time the author’s dreaminess and humanism.After he suddenly departed from Surrealism, Giacometti again created more figurative and vital works. The mature master created his most famous works - a series of elongated and fragile figures, similar to skeletons and made not by carving but by modelling in clay or plaster without thorough study and smoothing of the surface of sculptures and figurines. These works are extremely highly valued in the art market, and viewers are always incredibly interested in them.Giacometti wrote articles for catalogues of many exhibitions and periodicals, outlining extraordinary thoughts, and also kept diaries where he introduced memoirs, observations and explanations to his works. They are an important document of the avant-garde era in art and culture.The most highly regarded (literally and figuratively) outstanding classic of world sculpture was so extraordinary that he did not have direct followers, but influenced the entire world of fine art. He was the idol of Salvador Dali, Henry Moore and other famous artists.

A French painter, an outstanding draftsman and sculptor, one of the original and most prominent representatives of Impressionism, although the artist rejected this term.The artist began to pay more attention to the genre of sculpture after his vision had deteriorated by the beginning of the 1970s. The theme of these creations repeated his favorite themes of the paintings - women at their toilet, ballet dancers, horses and jockeys on them. Degas created these works for himself, replacing etudes with modeling, so he completed only a few sculptures, and exhibited only one - “The Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer”, which was criticized by experts.Wax figures (about 70) found by his heirs in the master's workshop were fragile, and it was decided to immortalize them in bronze, with which Degas never worked. The first cast samples appeared in 1921, and the originals were considered lost for a long time. However, the foundry master managed not to damage the fragile wax, and in 1954 they were found in the cellars of the foundry.All the originals put up for auction by the artist’s heirs were acquired by American collector Paul Mellon. He presented several works to the Louvre, and the largest collection, 52 statuettes, is in the Washington National Gallery.According to the agreement with the foundry, each of the wax sculptures was reproduced approximately 20-25 times - out of almost 1,500 copies, many are exhibited in major museums around the world. For example, in Copenhagen's Glyptotek, there is a complete set of them, although the debate about whether copies can be signed with the name of the master is still ongoing.

A Russian sculptor of Jewish origin, an artist, stage designer and art theorist who worked in different countries of Europe and for a long time in the USA.Gabo was one of the pioneers of modern sculpture. Instead of wood, stone or bronze, he used new industrial materials - acrylic glass, plastics and nylon threads. In his abstract spatial constructions, mass and volume - these "cornerstones of traditional sculpture" - turned out to be half-transparent, seemed weightless even with significant weight. A truly unique feature of Gabo's work is that he was inspired not by nature but the concepts of the exact sciences.With his ideas on contemporary sculpture, Naum Gabo revolutionized the general understanding of sculpture and its perception, having earned a place in the catalog of “100 artists from ancient Greece to the present, who played a significant role in the development of sculpture, painting and photography” published in the USA.The leader of the world avant-garde art, N. Gabo belonged to a group of Russian Constructivists (he was an ally of Tatlin, Malevich, Rodchenko) and representatives of the German Bauhaus; moreover, he was a member of the Paris group "Abstraction" of Amsterdam's "Style". Gabo decisively influenced modern English sculpture and was awarded the title of "Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire". In addition, the artist became one of the pioneers in the creation of kinetic visual art.

A Russian sculptor-muralist, master of the portrait genre in marble and bronze, professor, an author of theoretical works on monumental art.The natural talent allowed Vuchetich to become one of the most prominent representatives of "Soviet classicism", whose works are known in many countries of the world. He was repeatedly awarded the Grand Prix of international exhibitions; his merits were evaluated by six USSR state awards, as well as the J. Nehru Prize.The sculptor was awarded medals and orders (including as a participant in the Great Patriotic War), was Vice-President of the Academy of Arts; he became a Hero of Socialist Labor and People's Artist of the USSR. In his works, Yevgeny Vuchetich depicted the most significant events in the history of his country; the images of his works symbolize the military and labour heroism of the people. Such subjects determined the dramatic nature of his creations, which, however, always were life-affirming.The most significant in scale are his sculptural ensembles in Berlin Treptower Park and on the Volgograd Mamaev Kurgan. The sculpture "Motherland Calls" was inscribed as the tallest non-religious statue in the world in the Guinness Book of Records.

A Russian sculptor-muralist, master of the portrait genre, as well as the author of innovative household plastics - vases, glasses, glass figurines.The sculptor taught by prominent Russian and Parisian masters preferred the monumental genre and introduced some techniques of cubism and futurism into the sculpture. She became famous for her impressive monuments, the main of which is “Worker and Collective Farm Girl”, for which the author was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition in Paris. She also won the Venice Biennale.Over the years, the artist was a member of the art associations "Monolith", "Four Arts", the Society of Russian sculptors, the "Team of Eight", became an academician and got the title of People's Artist of the USSR.The sculptor created dozens of portraits of war heroes, scientists, artists, in which the image of outstanding people is realistic and emotional.Vera Ignatyevna was awarded the USSR State Prize five times for individual works, orders and medals not only in her country. She taught at the sculptural faculties of several educational institutions, was an author of theoretical articles on monumental sculpture.The Vera Mukhina Museum was opened in Feodosia, where she lived for a long time; a crater on Venus was named in her honour.

An outstanding world-famous Romanian sculptor, who made most of his creative career in France. He is one of the main founding artists of the abstract sculpting style and the brightest representative of the Paris school.Konstantin Brancusi, who was famous in avant-garde art of the 20th century, led the sculpture to revolutionary simplification of forms. This was not a simple exercise in plastic design but a real interpretation of the rhythm of the modern life. At the same time, the master, who worked in stone, bronze and wood, showed the highest technical skill. Through the emphasized formality and the apparent poverty of a shape, he revealed the inner beauty of the materials he used, freeing it from superficial manifestations. The proof that the art of Brancusi was not just empty abstraction but was filled with high content is the extraordinary popularity of his works during the life of the master and now. The pioneer of abstract sculpture was widely known in Europe, America, and also thanks to his admirer and follower I. Noguchi in Japan; but he never forgot his roots. The sculptor received large orders from Romania, including for park memorials.The artist’s legacy is also in demand in the 21st century. Despite the fact that the author frequently copied his sculptures, they are estimated at tens of millions of euros or dollars in the modern art market.Since its opening, the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris has a separate room with sculptures by Constantine Brancusi - the author bequeathed his works to the French people.

A German sculptor, engraver, graphic artist and playwright. The artist that engaged in figurative art is considered a prominent representative of late Expressionism, closely associated with traditional Gothic German Middle Ages.From the 1910s, Barlach’s work gained a great publicist scope. He constantly appealed to the consciousness of mankind, striving to expose the severity and depth of the problems of modernity. Like Expressionism in general, his art is characterized by high spiritual and ethical ideals.Bertolt Brecht, who called Barlach one of the greatest sculptors who have ever worked in the country, said about his works, “Beauty without embellishment. Greatness without moralizing. Harmony without gloss. The power of life without cruelty".In 1930-1931, to the 60th anniversary of the master, large exhibitions were held in German cities, in Essen, Venice, New York, Zurich, Paris. The fact of such widespread recognition did not stop the Nazis from harassing the artist, who became an "internal emigrant". He continued to do things that were hated by the authorities and the fundamentalist public.His plays were banned; his sculptures were removed from public collections and destroyed as "degenerate art". The press wrote, "we hope that all traces of his terrifying works will be removed"; the sculptor was called only "anti-German" and "semi-idiot". However, Barlach, having refused membership in the Academy of Arts, decided not to leave the country, upholding the right to free creation.In the post-war period, Barlach museums were established in both German states in the city of Gustrow (GDR) and Hamburg (Germany). A separate museum building was erected near Gustrow, where about 400 sculptures, about two thousand sketches and manuscripts of the creator are stored. The Ernst Barlach Society still exists.

A world-famous Ukrainian artist and sculptor, an outstanding representative of Cubism and Abstractionism in sculpture and painting, who worked in France, Germany and the USA.Works of A. Arkhipenko turned over the established understanding of sculpture, showed the possibility of composing a single of various nonequivalent forms, using glass and wood, metal, fabrics and paper in one composition. The expressive constructivity and at the same time lyricism, extraordinary plasticity in the transmission of movement are the main qualities of the works of the artist and sculptor.The works of Arkhipenko, highly appreciated by his contemporaries Picasso and Duchamp, Leger and Rodchenko, Delaunay and Gris, enjoyed constant attention, caused positive feedback in the press and monographs. The innovative artist held over one and a half hundred solo exhibitions; he had and has many followers and researchers.The artist generously shared his extraordinary vision of visual creativity - his private studios in Paris, Berlin, various cities of America, as well as lectures and masterclasses with which he traveled around the cities, were attended by thousands of beginners and venerable sculptors and painters.He never lost touch with his compatriots - he was a member of the Ukrainian Student Club in Paris, a member of the Ukrainian Community in Berlin; in the USA, he joined the Association of Ukrainian Artists, the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences, worked at the Ukrainian Institute of the USA. He created four busts of Taras Shevchenko (one is installed in the Park of Nationalities in Cleveland), portraits of I. Franko, Ukrainian public figures. In Soviet Ukraine, the name of Arkhipenko was not mentioned until the thaw of the 1960s; five works from the Lviv Museum were destroyed in the 1950s, as were twenty-two works from German museums in the 1930s.

A famous English sculptor, one of the most prominent people in the art of Great Britain of the 20th century. Barbara Hepworth worked in those times when female artists, especially sculptors, were rare. Along with her contemporaries Ben Nicholson and Henry Moore, she considerably influenced the development of British art in general and abstract sculpture.Hepworth’s favourite materials were wood and stone, from which she created biomorphic abstract compositions using the cutting technique. The artist developed the principle of "hollow form" and for the first time created a through sculpture, which is widely used by many sculptors of our time. Hepworth coordinated her extraordinary and mysterious images with the surrounding space and gave them a resemblance to natural forms and lines. The sculptor’s work is characterized by a special rhythm characteristic of the laws of nature itself.Together with her husband Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth was the leader of the St. Ives Artists' Colony, where she lived from the beginning of World War II until her death. She was also one of the founders of the Unit One art movement, whose participants were avant-garde artists and sculptors, and which managed to combine Surrealism and Abstractionism in British art.

A famous American artist and sculptor, whose works adorn squares of the cities of the USA, Europe and Latin America. A son and grandson of sculptors, Alexander Calder, was educated as an engineer and applied his knowledge in the field of sculpture, which allowed him to create a completely original, innovative approach to this kind of art.Calder became known worldwide as the inventor of "wire sculpture". Having abandoned the traditional heavy materials - clay, gypsum and bronze, he created airy designs in which the shape of the object is depicted very simplistically and schematically. His wire figurines resemble a pencil drawing in space and amaze you with their laconicism and elegance of execution.Another invention of the sculptor is the so-called "mobiles" – those are dynamic constructions that are driven by the force of the wind, the laws of gravity and in some cases by an electric motor. These works are completely abstract and small in size, in contrast to the more stable and monumental "stables" of the sculptor, which perfectly complement the urban landscape. One of the most famous and large-scale creations of Alexander Calder is his work "Man", located in the center of Montreal.

An outstanding Polish artist, sculptor and reformer of tapestry art. The textile sculptural forms of abakans were named after the artist. Large coarse-grained works were striking in their appearance, reminding the viewer organic repeatedly enlarged structures. The world art community highly appreciated the novelty of technology and plot ideas by Abakanowicz in the first half of the 1960s, having awarded the artist the main awards of the international biennale.The significant freedom that provided Polish artists with the opportunity to travel to western countries contributed to the development of Magdalena’s unique talent. She has been to Paris and Venice, Munich and New York, participated in art events outside the Eastern Bloc and received “injections” of other art, very different in form from the socialist realism adopted in Poland.Abakanowicz always emphasized the metaphorical nature of her works with names, since all her works are the result of thoughts “about the circumstances that form various human conditions”, a reflection of her personal life with her history of fears and suffering.Art critic D. Vrublevskaya determined, “M. Abakanowicz’s art is based on biology. But she is a creator; therefore, she explores a person through a form and uses instinct in her research.” The relentless ingenuity of Abakanowicz is determined by her creative credo, “I do not like principles and rules. These are enemies of fantasy. ”The artist was awarded many prestigious awards; her works adorn cities of Europe, Japan, the USA, Israel, and South Korea - she gave lectures and masterclasses in many of these countries.

The most famous and significant English sculptor of the post-war period, one of the founders of modernist British sculpture. Moore significantly influenced the gradual transformation of British sculpture from provincial to avant-garde, which not only corresponded to European concepts of modern art, but also introduced its themes and means of plastic expression.Moore became world-famous thanks to his sculptures designed for open space, which are installed in many large cities around the world. These works, depicting mainly semi-abstract human figures, impress you with the harmony of their forms and musicality of smooth, winding lines. They reveal the eternal themes of the beauty of nature and the attractiveness of the female body, the spiritual closeness of a man and a woman, the selfless love of a mother for her child - all that makes our world more beautiful.The sculptor preferred to cut his works from a whole piece of wood or stone, and began to use plaster and bronze casting only in the late period of his career. In addition to sculpture, Moore is known as a wonderful draftsman. His most significant works were impressive images of London citizens hiding in subway stations during Nazi bombings.

An outstanding French sculptor, painter, draftsman and teacher. After working for 15 years at the workshop of Auguste Rodin, first as his assistant and student, and then as his colleague, Antoine Bourdelle became an influential figure in the European art community.Bourdelle's Paris Studio Studio was visited by such students as Aristide Mayol, Vera Mukhina, Alberto Giacometti, who became outstanding sculptors, as well as artists Henri Matisse, Vadim Meller and dozens of others.The sculptor’s outstanding talent is evidenced by a large number of orders received by him for monumental buildings of national importance and a considerable number of works performed for capitals and cities around the world.The legacy of the master, who did not object to the repeated replication of his most outstanding works, is represented in museums around the world with his castings of bronze figures and compositions, as well as the copies of his works of later years.The artist became the full holder of awards of the Order of the Legion of Honor of France, was the founder and vice president of the Tuileries Salon in Paris. He created portraits of such prominent people as O. Rodin, G. Efel, and others.The house with his workshop in Paris, in which the sculptor lived and worked from 1884 until the end of his life, became an art museum, where there are many ready-made works, as well as sketches for them, made in terracotta, clay and plaster. The garden adjoins the museum, which also became the place to exhibit sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle. The second garden-museum of the sculptor was opened in Égreville thanks to the efforts of the heirs; 56 works by the master are presented there.

A Spanish (Catalan) painter and sculptor, whose work had a huge impact on the entire generation of modern artists. Joan Miro's paintings are the earliest surrealistic works. They served as the basis for the further formation and development of the style that is extremely popular to this day.Joan Miro tried his hand in various modernist and avant-garde styles of European painting, but never stopped on one of them completely, constantly improving and enriching his artistic method, experimenting with different painting techniques and methods. The result of these experiments was his painting style based on surrealism. This is what allowed the artist to rethink the basic principles of fine art in accordance with his original vision of the surrounding reality.The unique world of Joan Miró is full of unique images and symbols. They are presented in the form of pure plastic signs located in an empty space; they are not completely abstract but rather resemble naive art or drawings of children. Miro’s paintings consist of geometric, right or wrong figures, a dance of twisting lines and small details that have mystical meaning and create an indescribable atmosphere of each work.

An Italian artist, an outstanding representative of the second wave of Futurism in painting, one of the first Surrealists in his country. Enrico Prampolini was an unusually gifted man who showed his talent in many branches of art. His contemporaries knew him as a theater set designer and designer, as well as an architect who created several fundamental works. Together with Gerardo Dottori, the artist worked in the style of aerial painting, creating works based on the feeling of flight, the features of the air perspective and speed.Prampolini was one of the authors of the Manifesto of Mechanical Art, which proclaimed the dominance of machines in the world of the future and the close connection of new technologies with painting. The artist believed that contemporary art should be based on the use of mechanical elements from the world of industry. In his works, he praised the coherence and rhythm inherent in the work of mechanisms.The painter’s art developed in close contact with the avant-garde movements of Europe. Prampolini knew Paris Cubists, and also took an active part in the work of the German Bauhaus movement. Being a supporter of the abstract geometric construction of the composition, which is characteristic of Italian Futurism, Prampolini gradually moved to a complete abstraction, including elements of surrealism.

A Belarusian painter, graphic artist, illustrator and stage designer of Jewish origin, a master of applied and monumental art of the 20th century. Marc Chagall became one of the most internationally recognized creators. When many of his fellow peers conducted ambitious experiments, often leading to abstraction, he sacredly believed in the power of figurative art, which he supported with his work.Despite the avant-garde ideas he perceived, he remained a romantic. Born in Belarus, Chagall worked in Russia and France, where he immediately became a prominent figure at the École de Paris, and later in the United States and the Middle East. Travels confirmed his image of the archetypal "wandering Jew", who believed that art destroys borders and estates.The influence of Marc Chagall is as vast as the number of styles that he assimilated in his art. Never completely agreeing with any movement, he mixed many of the visual elements of cubism, fauvism, symbolism and surrealism into his lyrically emotional aesthetics with the invariable presence of Jewish and Slavic folklore.Chagall, like Picasso, is a vivid example of a modern artist who created many works - paintings (oil, gouache, watercolour), frescoes, etching, stained glass, ceramic products, theater decorations and costumes.

An Italian painter, architect, sculptor and art critic. He worked mostly in Milan and Rome. The work of Mario Sironi overcame several cardinal changes during his long career. The artist made the greatest contribution to Futurism, enriching and supplementing it with his original finds, as well as to metaphysical painting, becoming its bright and original representative. He was also one of the creators of the “Novechento” style that tried to change the diversity of modernist movements with a more rational “return to order”.Mario Sironi was a master of the industrial landscape subtly feeling the rhythm and atmosphere of his era. His paintings are distinguished by twilight mood and dark tones, contrasting sharply with the bright and enthusiastic canvases of Futurists. Using a rather limited palette, thanks to his sense of colour and form Sironi managed to create a unique atmosphere of alienation and emptiness of the modern world.Like many of his colleagues, the artist supported the fascist regime and created murals and mosaics commissioned to the order of the government. After the fall of the Mussolini regime, he experienced a great shock and disappointment, which negatively affected his work, but he continued to actively paint until the end of his days.

An Italian painter and sculptor, a representative of the second wave of Futurism and an outstanding participant in the movement of aero painting. Known for his realistic work that combines speed, aerial perspective and the mechanical aesthetics of war.The name Tullio Crali is inextricably connected with the theme of airplanes, which he repeatedly used in his work. Having made his first flight in 1928, the artist forever fell in love with the sky and the powerful roar of machines and decided to convey this impressive experience to the viewer with the help of painting.Crali joined Futurists at the age of 19, and, despite his youth, played a significant role in its development. At the beginning of his career, the artist painted military aircraft, praising the aesthetics of air combat and romanticizing the actions of Italian air forces. After the end of World War II, Crali remained faithful to the aesthetics of Futurism. His later works focused on the transfer of complete immersion in airspace from the point of view of the pilot. The works of Crali are distinguished by a dizzying perspective and expressive dynamics. His contribution to art is not only painting but also voluminous autobiographical works revealing the features of futuristic fine art.

The most famous Chilean artist, sculptor and architect, the leader of Latin American modernist art. Roberto Matta worked in the style of surrealism and was a close friend and associate of Salvador Dali, with whom they were united by the idea of ​​unconscious painting and a free flow of creativity without the intervention of intelligence or any system.The artist’s art is truly international. Born in Chile and living in almost all the capitals of Europe, as well as in the USA, Matta combined a wide variety of art styles in his work. He was never limited to one style, manner and materials, being an innovative artist, not tired of doing experiments. His unique style had a significant impact on the development of such a popular art movement as Abstract Expressionism.The most famous among the artist’s paintings are his surrealistic canvases from the Psychological Morphology series, which demonstrate an artificial reality filled with metaphors and symbolic figures. In the 1940s, Matta was distracted from studying subconscious and turning to social topics. In a series of works entitled Social Morphologies, he depicted complex mechanical objects and distorted human forms, symbolizing the injustices and horrors of the war.

A Ukrainian artist, major representative and one of the leading theorists of the Ukrainian art avant-garde of the early 20th century. Alexander Bogomazov is usually accompanied by the epithet “Ukrainian Picasso”, but he interpreted his work as cubofuturism in the article “Painting and Elements”, paying much attention to the rhythmic component of the work.Art critics characterize the world-class master as the most consistent of Cubo-Futurists, who most harmoniously combined the ideas of Italian Futurism with the stylistics of French Cubism and Orphism in his paintings. Moreover, it was he who theoretically substantiated the synthesis of these art movements. Bogomazov was a prominent cultural activist who reformed the country's system of art education. As a talented teacher, he taught for many years at various art schools, at the Institute of Plastic Arts (renamed in 1924 as the Kyiv Art Institute).The name of Alexander Bogomazov was removed from the history of art for more than 30 years due to the intensified struggle against formalism. People’s attention to his “arrested” paintings resumed only in the 1960s. The canvases of the outstanding avant-garde artist are exhibited at European and American galleries and museums.

A Romanian painter and sculptor of Jewish origin, the main representative of the vanguard of this country in the first half of the 20th century and during the post-war period. The artist made a significant part of his creative career in France. Although Victor Brauner, after his early post-impressionist and expressionist experiences, contributed to every avant-garde movement, much of his work fits into the concept of Surrealism.Active in the cultural life of his country, the artist tried to develop avant-garde movements - he founded the magazine “75 HP” in Bucharest, wrote the “Manifesto of Picto-Poetry,” and organized exhibitions of Dadaists and Surrealists. However, the threat of falling into the dungeons of the Nazis forced the artist to settle in France.Brauner was an active and influential member of the Surrealist association headed by Andre Breton; however, according to art expert, his art stood apart due to the artist’s unbridled imagination and, most importantly, his serious passion for esoteric ideas and the authentic art of different nationalities. This style made the artist original, especially after he lost his eye – the same one, which he depicted as knocked out in his self-portrait seven years before it happened in real.Victor Brauner was a participant in major surrealist exhibitions; in 1966 (in the year of his death), he was chosen to represent France at the Venice Biennale. He willed to make the inscription, "Painting is life, real life, my life" on the grave plate of the Montmartre cemetery.

An American artist and sculptor, a significant figure of modern painting and sculpture, one of the most commercially successful artists of the 20th century. Jasper Johns expressed the idea that art can be understood and close to each person, and not just for particular connoisseurs.Having abandoned the principles of Abstract Expressionism, misty and distant from people, he used generally known things, symbols of a certain phenomenon, ideas or just everyday habits in his paintings. His most famous picture of this style is “The American flag” – a recognizable and familiar to everyone national symbol, which the artist turned into a colourful painting.The name of Jasper Johns is often remembered together with another painter, his close friend and colleague Robert Rauschenberg. After Johns met him, his style significantly changed, and his ideas were realized in original and truly innovative works.The artist’s use of simple objects, for example, beer cans, which he made as a work of art, makes his work related to a conceptual approach to fine art. With his creations, the artist deliberately violated the boundaries between art and everyday life; this marked the beginning of the pop art movement that was extremely popular in the USA in the second half of the 20th century.The artist currently lives in Connecticut and is considered the most expensive of the living painters.

A Russian painter, sculptor, graphic artist and stage designer of Jewish origin, who combined the features of Russian Art Nouveau and avant-garde in his original work. One of the most famous and prominent Yiddish theater artists. Almost one decade spent in France did not make him a member of the Paris School of Art; accused of formalism, Robert Falk rarely exhibited his paintings in his motherland for the last twenty years of his creative career. However, he continued to create easel paintings “for himself”. He showed his works privately as a representative of unofficial art, the inspirer of which he became when he was young. He supported many young artists who visited his workshop.

A Ukrainian artist of Jewish origin, who lived and worked in Russia for a long time. He was a portrait master, graphic illustrator, sculptor and theatre artist. The prominent avant-garde artist was a founding member of Russian cubism, a member of such significant creative groups as The World of Art and The Union of Youth, one of the founders of the Jewish Society for the Promotion of Arts. He was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia in 1968.

A Spanish artist, sculptor and poet, an outstanding figure of Spanish Surrealism, along with Salvador Dali and Joan Miro. Oscar Dominguez was an ambiguous and controversial artist whose life ended tragically. As a child, he had acromegaly, which resulted in deformation of the bones of his face and limbs. Oscar’s non-standard appearance caused profound spiritual experiences, which were reflected in many of his works, especially self-portraits.Paintings of the Spanish artist reflect the events of his life and are often provocatively shocking. They show everything that usually hides deep in the subconscious and is considered dirty and obscene. Dominguez often used the method of distorting objects and compared incompatible things, creating a strange and eerie atmosphere in his paintings.The artist is also known as the author of the popular decalcomania method that was popular among Surrealists. The essence of this technique is in the chaotic application of a thick layer of paint on the surface, followed by the imposition of a second sheet on it, resulting in a fancy imprint. With its unpredictable effects, decalcomania presented new ideas to artists and awakened their imagination. Andre Breton included this method in his famous "Surrealism Handbook", thus recognising the significant contribution of Dominguez in the common matter of the approval of this art movement.

A German representative of avant-garde, a prominent artist, sculptor, master of monumental painting, as well as a choreographer, theater designer and art theorist. For about 10 years he worked at the famous Bauhaus school of art and industry (Bauhaus, Weimar), developing the training course “Der Mensch” (Man), which was based on the synthesis of the techniques of several artistic disciplines and different styles. Oscar Schlemmer made a significant contribution to the art of scenography, creating design and choreography for several operas and ballets. The artist’s paintings were included in the list of “degenerative”; he was forbidden to paint and work as a teacher at art schools.

The American painter and graphic artist of Jewish origin and was born in Belarus. He created his works in various styles, such as realism (mystical and social), purism, cubism and surrealism.

An English artist and Surrealist writer with an interesting and difficult destiny, who lived in Mexico for around 70 years. The daughter of rich English noblemen, Leonora Carrington had obstinate character and desire for independence. She was excluded from several schools, until she started learning painting at a fine art school in Chelsea; at the age of 12, she met famous artist Max Ernst and ran away with him to Paris.During the war, the artist had to hide from Nazi authorities. She experienced imprisonment in a nuthouse and fantastic escape from it with the help of a nurse, who came by a submarine. Leonora Carrington got real happiness and confidence in the future only in Mexico, where she emigrated after marrying someone fictitiously.The artist was one of the brightest representatives of Surrealism. Her painting differs in a very personal, individual art language. It is filled with fantastic plots and symbolic figures, which derived from the Celtic and Central American Mythology, dreams and human subsonsciousness. Carrington’s mysterious world, perfectly combining with the special grotesque humor and courage of self-expression, reveals the unusual in simple things and is a true expression of the philosophy of Surrealism.

An eminent English artist and sculptor, a connoisseur and collector of works of art, a teacher and publicist. Roland Penrose was one of the key figures of British Surrealism, and also a founder of the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, which was the center of the country's avant-garde culture. For a long time, the artist was a curator at the famous Tate Gallery and did a lot to acquaint compatriots with advanced art movements of Europe.The work of the British artist is mostly collages or paintings made in the collage style. In his works, the artist often used tourist postcards depicting famous places or architectural monuments, connecting them in various combinations, and creating his own original vision of world famous objects. The unexpected combination of incompatible things is the main idea of Penrose's art, which is reflected both in his canvases and in sculpture.The name of Roland Penrose is often mentioned in connection with his book "Picasso: Life and Work", which is one of the most reliable sources of information about the great artist, with whom the author had been friends for many years. Apart from this work, Penrose also issued monographs about his contemporaries, including Joan Miro, Antoni Tapies and Man Ray.

Ivan Vasilievich Kliun (born Klyonkov) was a russian avant-garde artist, art theorist, a brilliant representative of several recent art movements, including Suprematism - a special branch of Russian Abstractionism of the first half of the 20th century.A companion and friend, as well as a follower of K. Malewicz, who remained in his shadow and even was unjustly considered the “avant-garde of the second row”, was one of the most original masters in both Cubo-Futurism and Suprematism. His best works, no doubt related to the geometric abstractions of the author of the Black Square, are freer in painting, rich in the play of light and shadow, whimsical in terms of irrationalism of forms, sometimes brought by the author to a super-impressive minimum.These qualities attracted connoisseur and collector George Kostaki, thanks to whom the master's works were preserved and became known later. Traveling to Greece, Kostaki was forced to donate a part of his personal collection to his country; thus, the work of Kliun ended up at the Tretyakov Gallery and other main collections of the USSR.Ivan Kliun was an active participant in the cultural life of the “futuristic” capitals of Russia, an exhibitor of all significant avant-garde exhibitions, a founding member of the Moscow Salon and Supremus associations, an author of several theoretical treatises, a member of the later group Four Arts.

An Austrian artist and draughtsman of Jewish descent, engraver and sculptor, architect and stage designer, master of monumental painting and book illustration, as well as a composer and poet. Ernst Fuchs was one of the founders of the famous Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, the creator and active implementer of the Vienna Art Club and the organization “Hundsgruppe”.The artist became world famous working in France, Germany, the USA, Israel and Spain. In 1993, Ernst Fuchs was one of the first Western artists to be honored to hold a large retrospective exhibition at The State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg; later his exhibition was held at The State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The master who opened his exhibitions noticed, “One of the highest manifestations of art is Old Russian painting.”The artist, whose paintings impressed his friend Salvador Dali, purchased and restored the Villa of Otto Wagner in Hutteldorf, where he organized The Museum of Ernst Fuchs in 1988. It is currently one of the largest cultural centers of Austria and represents the largest collection of the paintings of the master whose nickname was Fire-Fox.The painting of Ernst Fuchs is hoax and dissonance, challenge to society (especially in the nude genre), but at the same time a continuous and creative dialogue with old masters. Incredibly famous and productive Austrian master created works in absolutely different art genres – from incredibly skillful paintings and architecture to literature and music.

A Danish painter, sculptor, director, who is considered a pioneer of Surrealism not only in his own country, but in the Scandinavian art as a whole. This was so despite the fact that the artist was almost an amateur. Wilhelm Freddie initially worked as an abstract artist, but later moved away from non-figurative painting and turned to Surrealism, a more realistic style. Nazi and Fascism were criticized in a number of paintings by the artist (primarily in his “Meditation” created in 1936); as a result he was officially prevented from visiting Germany, and later was forced to seek refuge in Sweden, where he lived until the early 1950s.Some paintings by Freddie were rather bold in plots and contradictory in meaning, therefore they were considered pornographic in the pre-war years and in the first two decades after the war. This led to the closure of exhibitions, the arrest of the author and repeated confiscation of works. Their artistic merits were subsequently recognized; the state galleries and museums of Denmark and other countries began to acquire the works of the master for their collections.Art historians rightly believe that Dane Wilhelm Freddie awarded the highest award of the Academy of Arts, the Torvaldzen Medal, in 1970, should be named first among Scandinavian Surrealists. He was one of the few Surrealists, whose works were filled not only with fantasy, but also with deep ideological and moral content.

A Spanish surrealist artist and sculptor, whom art experts refer to very significant and undeservedly little-known painters of the 20th century. A fellow student of Salvador Dali, a member of the art group Logicophobiste (Barcelona) had a unique style - certainly her own view on the moral aspects and mechanics of life. Her works are full of subtle wit and mystery; the theme of her paintings is motivated by the studies of antiquity and literary sources, as well as by physics and mathematics, engineering and biology in combination with psychoanalysis.Fleeing from the Franco regime, feminist and anarchist Varo, who had republican contacts, moved to Paris, but during the times of the Second World War immigrated to Mexico. The artist’s unique style combines fragments of the subconscious, mystical principle and a deep understanding of the human soul. It takes its roots in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, the art of Jheronimus Bosch, scientific theories and esoteric literature. Varo created her main works in the second half of her life, and gained worldwide fame after her death.The artist’s paintings are allegorical and filled with deep meaning. They make the viewer think about the nature of the Universe and the secrets of existence hidden in simple things. The incredible world of Remedios Varo attracts you with its lyricism, emphasized femininity, and paradoxes of reality, which the artist tirelessly created in each of her paintings.The magic and mysticism of the works of Remedios Varo have much in common with the works of her close friend, Leonora Carrington, who, like Varo, emigrated from Europe that suffered from wars to relatively calm Mexico. Together, the women organized a circle of Surrealists, whose work also contained the influence of local culture, in particular the “muralism”, which was a mixture of avant-garde movements with the art of South American Indians.

An Austrian Surrealist painter, art theorist, sculptor and poet, author of several philosophical works, who worked in Mexico and the USA.Wolfgang Paalen came from a wealthy German-Austrian family; his childhood passed in an old castle, purchased and restored by his father. The atmosphere of the Middle Ages reigned there; ancient legends and legends of local people significantly impacted the formation of the personality of the future artist.Paalen was a member of the group of abstract artists "Abstraction-Creation", and later became one of the prominent figures of the surrealist movement, acting as an organizer and designer of their exhibitions, both in Europe and in the USA. At the invitation of Frida Kahlo, he moved to Mexico, where he founded his surreal art magazine DYN, which had a great influence on the avant-garde art of the country.In his work, Wolfgang Paalen sought to combine abstract art with an appeal to the subconscious and symbolic elements. He developed his model of surrealistic expression, presented in the form of a mysterious, otherworldly landscape permeated with mysticism and saturated with mysterious images of cosmic origin.Abstract paintings of the artist and his theoretical articles had a great influence on the development of Abstract Expressionism, which became the major art movement in the USA in the second half of the XXth century.

Zdzisław Beksiński was a Polish artist, master of art photography and computer graphics. Z. Bekshinsky was a vivid representative of late Surrealism, who initially created sculptures and wire installations. Having concentrated on painting, the artist first worked in the style of abstraction, but then quickly turned to fantastic Surrealism. This style includes his most famous works, the subjects of which are scenes of death, decay and post-apocalyptic horror.From the 1970s, the artist developed a specific manner of transmitting surrealistic horror paintings with a repeated addiction to the image of distorted bodies without faces or limbs, many-legged and many-armed monsters, often wrapped in rotten rags. If the artist painted architecture or interior, those were ruins shrouded in gloomy fog, houses covered with cobwebs, tourniquets and gravestones. Thus, most of Bekshinsky’s works are difficult to confuse with the work of other Surrealists. The artist never gave names to his impressive nightmares, giving the viewers an opportunity to reach the essence of the work themselves.After the Warsaw exhibition of 1964, when all canvases of the painter were sold out, almost all the opening days of Zdzislaw were a huge success in his homeland. In the early 1980s, the works of the Polish original master became known in France, and then he became incredibly popular in Western Europe, Japan and the USA.Bekshinsky bequeathed his paintings to the Historical Museum of the city of Sanok, where he was born. This museum now has the largest collection of works by the artist - several thousand paintings, sculptures, reliefs, drawings, graphics, and photographs.

An American Swedish-born artist who worked with her spouse M. Ernst in France for thirty years. Dorothea Tanning, a prominent representative of surrealism, is famous in Europe and the USA as not only an artist, but also as a sculptor and graphic artist, a book designer and set designer, as well as an author of significant literary works. All the works of D. Tanning – from painting and sculpture to poetry – deeply influenced the next generations of artists. The investigations and examples of so called «female form of art» were frequently used by the members of the feminist movement. Along with other surrealist women, Tanning provided the necessary active model for women who also tried to get free from limited opinion and become independent artists. It is noteworthy that her experiments in sculpture influenced the creative career of Louise Bourgeois, and Sara Lucas, who showed the same intense interest in the basic psychedelic ideas of Surrealism. The 100th anniversary of the artist was celebrated with numerous exhibitions around the world, in particular, early projects for the stage in the Drawing Center in New York, paintings in the Galerie Bel'Art, Stockholm, Sweden, and the exposition «Happy Birthday Dorothea Tanning» in the Max Ernst Museum in Seillans, France. Paintings and sculptures of Dorothea Tanning are presented in leading museums and galleries in Europe and the USA and are highly valued at art auctions.

A Georgian artist, graphic artist and master of scenography, as well as an art historian, inventor and teacher. David Kakabadze was an innovator not only in the field of fine arts but also in cinematography, who patented a film apparatus for volumetric shooting. His work is characterized by love for various European modern trends and by both a commitment to national themes and traditions and a distinctive interpretation of avant-garde art movements of the 20th century. The painter left a rich artistic legacy. The largest collection of his paintings belongs to the national museums and galleries of Georgia.

An American artist and sculptor of Italian origin. Enrico Donati is considered the last of Surrealists, who lived a long and fruitful life, full of creative experiments and achievements.The artist began his career in the field of fine art rather late. He tried his hand in music, writing avant-garde compositions in Montparnasse, showed interest in anthropology and participated in an expedition to study the culture of ancient Indians, was engaged in commercial activities, and only at the age of 30 started painting seriously. Deciding to devote his life to painting, Donati joined the circle of Surrealists, a movement that was at the peak of its popularity in Paris.After the Second World War began, the artist, like many of his colleagues, moved to the United States. Here he, in his own words, “found himself anew”, starting to experiment with various materials and inventing completely new painting technologies. In order to create the necessary texture in his works, Donati used such materials as sand, dust, coffee beans and a wide variety of objects. In some of his works, he even used the contents of his vacuum cleaner, arguing that almost any thing could become a true art. Later, when surrealism lost relevance, he clearly showed his talent in such art movements as Constructivism and Abstract Expressionism.

A French painter, graphic artist and sculptor. Eugene Carriere is famous as an outstanding teacher, who founded his own art academy and who was a teacher of such great masters as Andre Derain, Jean Puy and Henri Matisse. In 1890, together with Rodin and Puvis de Chavannes, Carriere founds the National Society of Fine Arts; in 1904, he becomes the first president of the newly opened Autumn Salon. On his initiative, the Salon of New Art opens; artists of completely new Art Nouveau style are exhibited there. The work of E. Carriere had a significant influence on Symbolist artists and opened ways for the formation of Fauvism.

An English Symbolist painter and sculptor, master of allegorical and mythological paintings, mural master and portraitist popular in his time. Watts is considered one of the most mysterious, prolific and exceptional artists of the Victorian era. He was awarded the knighthood and the title of academician of the Royal Academy of Arts. In Compton (Guilford), the artist and his wife themselves created a gallery, which was renovated and expanded at our time. In the estate Limnerslease, the museum of G. Watts, studios and workshops for the artists were opened.

A French Symbolist painter, sculptor and graphic artist, a member of the Nabi group. As a landscape painter, the author of plot paintings and a sculptor, Lacombe explored Symbolist themes and interpreted them in his own way. Paintings and sculptures by Georges Lacombe are included in the collections of many museums around the world.

A French painter and sculptor, a bright representative of avant-garde movements in his country and the United States. Andre Masson, a close friend of A. Breton, J. Miro, M. Ernst, was one of the largest early French Surrealist artists. Then, abandoning the main ideas of this style, he focused on the expressive image of impulses of love and hate, acutely reacting to the tragic events in Europe. Forcefully living in America for several years, the artist was interested in ancient, African-American and Native American mythology, putting modern sound into the plots. His style influenced many young American artists who developed Abstract Expressionism. A. Masson wrote, “painful contradictions are the source of the greatest artistic inspiration”; his identification as a Surrealist is ambiguous, although it was he who was the most ardent supporter of the release of the subconscious. Throughout his life, Masson had a huge number of exhibitions throughout Europe and in the United States; his works, including those created in a unique style with the use of sand, are at the most significant contemporary art galleries and museums of the world.

A German artist and innovator, graphic artist, engraver and sculptor, co-founder of the first German Expressionist association "Die Brücke" ("Most", Dresden-Berlin).While still in high school, he became friends with future artist Karl Schmidt and, together with the like-minded students, organized the community Vulcan. This community conducted discussions on the theory of art and on the works of their favorite authors (Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, etc.)The very name of Die Brucke clearly indicated the desire of artists to create a bridge between the past and present art. However, they also declared the creation of new ways of artistic expression. Thus, borrowing something from the old masters of the German Renaissance (Durer, Grunewald, Cranach the Elder, etc.), taking something from Symbolism, Art Nouveau and especially from Fauvism, while relying on primitive art, Erich Heckel and his colleagues promoted the whole history of European (and world) fine arts to the synthesis of very different styles.The art of "Bridge" and E. Heckel revived the traditions of late German Gothics - in particular, woodcut - to a very large extent. The movement contributed to the process, which made engraving a powerful means of self-expression of many masters of the 20th century.The work of E. Heckel in 1937 was referred to "degenerative", almost 730 works were confiscated from German galleries and museums; in 1944, bombs destroyed his studio in Berlin. Works of the master are in most major museums in Germany, in galleries of the United States and other countries; a large collection of Heckel etchings (over 40) is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

A Ukrainian artist of Jewish origin, a painter, draftsman and sculptor, as well as an inventor who lived and worked in Paris for many years. Born under the name Shulim Wolf Leib Baranov.Baranoff-Rossine was a vivid representative of the Ukrainian and Russian avant-garde. He was recognized throughout Europe and the United States. He invented the color-visual clavier and presented "bell-ring" concerts at the theaters of Russia, France, the Netherlands and the USA. In the Paris Center of G. Pompidou, there is the device itself and the Gallery of visual effects of the opophonic piano.Constantly experimenting with color and light effects, Wladimir Davydovich applied them in the military art, having developed the technique of camouflage in 1939. Baranoff was officially registered as the inventor of the "photochromometer", which allowed to determine the quality of precious stones, as well as the machine "Multiperko", which produced, sterilized, poured carbonated drinks. His inventions received several technical awards, which, unfortunately, did not save the Jewish artist from the Auschwitz gas chamber in 1944.In 1972, the artist's family gave 38 works to the Museum of Modern Art in Paris; his son Dmitry restored the color music piano, which was exhibited in the hall of the Pompidou Center. The artist was presented in 1972 at the exhibition "Significant paintings of Russian artists in French collections", works have been exhibited around the world, in particular, retrospectives at the Tretyakov Gallery in 2002, at the Russian Museum and the Pushkin Museum in 2007.

German artist, graphic artist, sculptor, engraver and architect. He worked in the styles of historical Romanticism, Symbolism and Early modern.In 1892, he became one of the founders of the influential "Society of Berlin Artists", organized exhibitions. He was a member of the Munich Secession, a member of the newly formed Viennese Secession and a professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig (since 1897), an honorary member of the Stockholm Academy, had the title of Knight of the Order Pour le merite.A real sensation was the early cycles of 1878 on the theme of the deeds of Christ and Fantasy about the glove. M. Klinger called the depicted "cycles" (events with imaginary fantastic and symbolic realities) "opuses", equating them to musical works.In treatise "Painting and Drawing", which was published in 1891, the author gives an independent meaning to the depiction of the fantastic external world. At the same time, Klinger believed that it was peculiar to the graphics to express such scenes most clearly. Fantasy (a painted story) about the glove is rightly defined by experts as the first Surrealist work. The graphic cycle of "Drama", depicting the revolution of 1848 and the tragedy of the urban "bottom," outlines the line of Social Expressionism.M. Klinger's contribution to sculpture was also original: trying to revive the technique of polychrome plastics, he used various marbles, ivory and gold, bronze and painted alabaster.According to the figurative definition of art, Klinger was "from the family of Durer and Holbein." This is a mournful thoughtfulness, a dramatic pathos, and a contemplative dream. His symbols always embody great feelings and great thoughts.A House-Museum was opened in the artists hometown.

An Italian painter, sculptor, talented restorer and poet, who worked in America (New York) for some time.Dossena was born in the small village of Lodigiano in the Italian commune of Kevenego d'Adde, Lombardy. The boy was 12, when the father of a large and mostly minor family died. Together with the eldest 14-year-old brother, Giuseppe took care of his younger brothers and sisters. Only when they all got families, he was able to get married and do visual arts.The artist made a significant contribution to the development of such Italian art movements as Neo-impressionism and Expressionism. He was successful and recognized during his life, a member of several academies and creative associations, was awarded the prestigious awards of Italy and the United States in the field of art and literature.

Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp was a French and American artist, an art theorist, one of the founders of such art movements as Dadaism and Surrealism.Was born into a wealthy family. His mother, brothers and sister were engaged in painting, and Marcel grew up in a creative atmosphere, which contributed to the early manifestation of his talent. Following the older brothers, he began to paint in the style of impressionism, presenting quite interesting works from the age of 14.Marcel Duchamp, despite a small number of his works, was one of the most influential figures of fine art after the First World War, a genius and a rebel, who pushed the scope of painting beyond what was permitted. The artist was the author of the "ready-made" method, being the first to use the idea of ​​creating art objects from the most common objects, such as a bicycle wheel and even a urinal. The unusual and sometimes shocking creativity of Duchamp has opened wide opportunities for the further development of avant-garde art all over the world.At the end of his career, the artist departed from painting, preferring to use already finished objects for his works, which he called "ready-made", or creating voluminous collages. In addition to his artistic creativity, Marcel Duchamp starred in films, wrote articles and studied chess, in which he was a professional. Thanks to his versatile and unordinary talent, he left a bright mark in the art of the early twentieth century and laid the foundation for the emergence of completely new methods and trends in painting.

A Belgian and French artist, graphic artist and sculptor, illustrator.In the history of art, he is considered one of the bright and talented artists who embodied the tragic nature of their era. As a Symbolist, the artist used the traditions of religious painting, in his own way interpreting the plots and relating them to modernity. Very important for the reconstruction of the events of the epoch of symbolism are the already published in the 21st century 18 volumes of a diary by Henry de Groux, which he and his relatives had compiled for 30 years.De Groux engraved a series of lithographs, illustrated the "Book of the Secrets of Peladan".

An Austrian artist, poet and writer, the leader of the Berlin Dada.He was born into the family of artists. He received his first drawing skills from his father. In 1900, at the age of fourteen, Hausmann moved with his family to Berlin, where he studied painting at Artur's Studio Arthur Lü Funk.Raoul Hausmann was a key figure among the avant-garde artists of Germany, famous for his photomontages and original collage works, which he used for satire and political protest. The artist also created voluminous compositions, the most famous of which was the "Mechanical Head" or "The Spirit of Our Time". In addition, Hausmann invented an optico-poetic poem, wrote a large number of critical articles, was an editor of the magazine Der Dada, and worked out the manifesto of Berlin's Dada together with like-minded people. He is rightly considered one of the most original artists of his time, whose revolutionary ideas had a direct impact on European avant-garde art.

A Spanish artist and sculptor, art theorist, one of the founders of Cubism, stands alongside P. Picasso and G. Braque.Jose Victoriano Carmelo Carlos (the name that he received when he was born) was the thirteenth child in the family of wealthy merchant Gregorio Gonzalez. The boy received his first art education in Madrid at the school of fine and applied art. From 1904, Gris took private painting lessons from Jose Moreno Carbonero, who was a highly educated but very traditional painter. The artist earned his first money, illustrating humorous essays in magazines.Juan Gris is an outstanding figure of European art of the first half of the twentieth century, with his highly intelligent painting that laid the foundation for Surrealism, Dadaism and pop art. Despite a rather short life, the artist managed to create a new turn in the development of Cubism, becoming the founder of its synthetic direction and a pioneer in the collage technique. A member of the Parisian group of artists known as the "Ecole de Paris", Gris participated in the exhibitions of the Salon of Independent in Paris, the Sturm Gallery in Berlin, the Dalmau Gallery in Barcelona and many others. In addition to paintings, the artist created scenery and costumes for the ballet productions of Sergei Diaghilev, as well as illustrated the books of his friends: G. Apollinaire, P. Reverdy and V.Udobro. Works of the artist impacted not only the development of painting, but also sculpture, architecture and design in Europe and the United States of America.

An Australian avant-garde artist and sculptor, who worked for some time in Europe and America.Albert was born in the Australian city of Melbourne into the poor family of a railway worker. He had to leave school at the age of 14 to help his family. Not having formal artistic training, he got a job as a cartoonist and commercial illustrator at an advertising agency.He was a member of "Hyde Krug" - a group of progressive artists and writers, a member of the Society for Contemporary Art of Australia, created in 1938 by J. Bell as an alternative to the Academy of Arts. He became one of the organizers of "Angry Penguins" ("Evil Penguins"), the avant-garde movement of the 1940s and the co-author of the issues of the eponymous magazine.Tucker often took pictures, using them to create paintings, and also wrote down ideas and scenes that were sketches for his works - he accidentally created eyewitness documents for the history of his time.The artist was awarded many prestigious awards in Australia and the USA, his paintings are presented in all Australian public galleries, in museums and galleries in New York.Barbara Tucker, Albert's wife, kept the artist's archives and family estate. The Albert and Barbara Tucker Foundation was established, as well as the artist's museum.

A French painter, sculptor, master of the monumental decorative art, one of the grandees of the fine art of the early twentieth century.The father of the future artist was engaged in cattle breeding and died when Fernan was only a few years old. Leger received his primary education at the church school in Tensecheb, and afterward, he studied architecture in Cannes.Fernand Leger played an important role in the formation and dissemination of Cubism and laid the foundations for such avant-garde trends as Neoplasticism and Constructivism. The artist actively collaborated with Cubist group "Golden Section", participated in the exhibitions "Salon of Independent", "Autumn Salon" and avant-garde association "Style", founded by Piet Mondrian in the Netherlands and the Russian "Jack of Diamonds". His interest in the possibility of synthesis of the arts led to the development and implementation of several architectural and design projects. The artist also clearly manifested himself in the field of applied creativity, scenography, cinema and book graphics. Together with Ozenfant, he founded The Free Art School, and later The Contemporary Art Academy. From 1940, the artist lived in the United States, where he taught at Yale University and at Mills College in California and achieved much in promoting contemporary art trends in the country.

Fernand-Edmond-Jean-Marie Khnopff was a Belgian painter, graphic artist and sculptor, designer, and author of the decoration of the De La Monnet Theater in Brussels.He was born into a rich bourgeois family from Flanders. His father assumed that his son would become a lawyer and sent him to Brussels to study law. However, Fernand soon left school, deciding to devote himself to painting.Fernand Khnopff was one of the founders of the “Union of XX” group of artists in 1883 and is considered the most prominent representative of Belgian Symbolism in painting. He presented his works mainly in Paris, exhibited his paintings at the first salon "Rose and Cross", and also participated in the exhibition of the Vienna Secession, which united Art Nouveau artists. Khnopff was also a talented art expert and photographer. He mixed different techniques and styles in his painting and made a great influence on the development of European Art Nouveau.Fernand Khnopff was a unique person. He surrounded himself with legends and myths, at the same time, being secretive. In his house-studio, built according to his own project and reminiscent of a theater or a temple of art rather than an ordinary house, he welcomed only his favorites. The only close friend and permanent model of the artist was his sister Margaret, whose appearance he admired and whose image captured in several hundred of his works. Despite this, Khnopff was very popular during his lifetime. He was emulated by young painters and admired by art experts and critics; he was the most influential among Symbolists, and the art of the Belgian artist became a source of inspiration of such a bright talent as Gustav Klimt.

Czech teacher, graphic artist and sculptor, one of the largest and brightest representatives of Cubism in his country. The editor of art magazines and an art theorist. Having survived concentration camps, after World War II, he became the first author whose personal exhibition was organized by the official Association of Czech Artists. Filla was engaged in teaching activities, but could not participate in exhibitions, because his works did not belong to Socialist realism. In co-authorship with Otto Guthfreind, the Czech artist created Cubist sculptures, considered to be the very first in the history of fine art. Later he applied this style in decorative and applied art, including painting on glass.Although Cubist architecture became a real phenomenon in the Czech Republic, thanks to the work of such masters as Emil Filla, the legacy in painting became a significant and important part of the European contemporary art. The artist left a significant creative legacy, including a large number of theoretical essays on art. In 1998, he was posthumously awarded The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk of the 3rd degree for his services to the country.

An outstanding German artist, sculptor, designer and poet.His father was a German man from Kiel and his mother was from Alsace. His restless nature, the propensity to move, according to Arp, was predetermined - he called himself Jean, when he spoke in French, and Hans, when he switched to German.He was a founding member and participant of many avant-garde groups in Zurich, Munich, Berlin, Cologne, Paris. Cavalier of the main orders of France in the field of culture, winner of many prestigious awards. A large collection of works is presented at the Museum of New and Contemporary Art in Strasbourg, situated on the square of H. Arp. The cultural center in Clamart, a street in Paris. is named after the artist. The Foundation of Arp in Bonn received the status of a national museum in 2004.

Arthur Merrick Bloomfield Boyd was one of the most significant artists of Australia of the 20th century, a painter, ceramist, sculptor, engraver who has worked in England for more than 10 years.Born into the family of artists, in the suburb of Melbourne, Murrambine. His father was a sculptor and a ceramist and his mother was a painter; both older brothers became artists: David became a painter, Guy was a sculptor. Arthur left his school at age 14 to devote himself to painting.The work of A. Boyd, based on his outstanding talent and powerful, though somewhat gloomy imagination, played a big role in the development of the newest art of his country. He was one of the first artists to raise important social themes in painting. He was recognized during his lifetime and awarded many prizes and orders. He donated the vast territory of his estate and most of the paintings to the Australian people.The series of paintings created by Boyd and his very life are an integral part of the history of Australia, and not just its culture.

A prominent German artist, graphic artist and portrait painter, a master of monumental painting.Along with Arnold Becklin, historical painter Anselm von Feuerbach and younger artist, decorator and sculptor, Franz von Stuck, he is a prominent representative of German Symbolism and the forerunner of Art Nouveau in the local meaning of the term.

A Belgian artist and sculptor, one of the leaders of the school of Flemish Expressionism.He was born into the family of a landscape painter Henri Permeke. Constant received his first form of education from his father.Constance Permeke was one of the founders of an innovative wave in the colony of artists in Sint-Martens-Latem near Ghent and headed the Antwerp Academy of Arts after the end of World War II. The artist enjoyed great fame and popularity during his lifetime. He organized several solo exhibitions, including in Paris and Brussels, and also participated in the Venice Biennale in 1934, which made him famous throughout the world. The most recognizable work of the author is the sculpture "Niobe", copies of which adorn the channels of Bruges and are a symbol of the city. Streets in several cities of Belgium, including Brussels, Antwerp and Ostend, are named after Constant Permeke. In the Belgian village of Jabbeke, a regional museum of the artist was opened.

A Swiss artist, sculptor, illustrator and graphic artist, who also created numerous wall paintings. He signed his paintings with the pseudonym Emil Sinclair.Cuno Amiet was born into the family of an official (state archivist) in the canton of Solothurn, where he began to take painting lessons.The artist worked in the genres of landscape and portrait. Belongs to the post-impressionist art movement, was a member of the Pont-Aven School, the Nabis group and the Vienna Secession. He was an honorary Doctor of Arts at the University of Berne, as well as an honorary member of the Solothurn Union of Artists, and since 1906 actively participated in the Art Association "The Bridge" (Germany).

A German painter, sculptor, graphic artist and decorator, one of the leaders of Symbolism in the visual arts of Europe in general and Germany in particular.He painted genre pictures and portraits actively using mythological scenes. He became the organizer of the "Munich Secession", which had the greatest success in Europe after Paris Salons. He founded the magazine “Jugeng”, from which the name “Jugendstil”, commonly known for the German style of art nouveau, was derived. For his merits and achievements, the son of a peasant and miller received a noble title, became an honorary doctor of the Technical University of Munich. There is an art museum at the villa that was built and equipped by von Stuck.

A French sculptor, painter and graphic artist who worked in the USA. Famous as one of the great sculptors of the 20th century, Louise Bourgeois lived an incredibly long creative life. Her career spans almost a century, and her work reflects almost all the major art movements of this period: Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, Constructivism and Abstract art.Despite the influence of various artistic movements and styles, sculptures by Bourgeois were always unique creations of modern sculpture. Based on early, predominantly sad childhood memories, they affect the deepest human feelings, always hitting the target directly. Huge steel spiders, strange objects in the cages and close attention to the relationship between the sexes cause strong emotions and genuine public interest in the extraordinary work of the artist.Louise Bourgeois was one of the first to use Environmental art in her art; it involves the presence of sculptural compositions in the everyday environment of a human being. Unlike traditional statues standing on high pedestals, these statues were placed close to people, becoming a part of their life. In addition, Bourgeois played an important role in the formation of the feminist movement and had a strong influence on the development of the art of installation and performance.

A German sculptor, draftsman, one of the leading theorists of Postmodernism, professor at the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf, a public figure. Joseph Beuys was actively involved in issues of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy, which led to his expanded concept of fine art, the creation of social sculpture. The creator is considered one of the founders of such performance art as fluxus, which became popular in Germany. In this regard, Andy Warhol called Beuys the “ideal partner”.The activities of Joseph Boyce cover four areas: material works in the traditional artistic sense (sculptures, paintings, drawings, art objects), staging and execution of actions and stock fluxes; works on the theory of art used in teaching, as well as socio-political activities (organization of parties, meetings with politicians, the Dalai Lama, etc.).Beuys is world-famous as one of the most important innovators of 20th-century art. The largest collection of the master’s works is held at the Berlin Hamburger-Bahnhof Museum, which also houses the most comprehensive media archive. The museum is a center for the study of the artist’s work. From 2008 to 2014, the Joseph Beuys Theater was operating in Moscow.

The most famous Belgian artist of the twentieth century, known for his mysterious and inexplicable canvases, made in an original surreal style. At the age of fourteen, Rene Magritte suffered a severe mental trauma - the suicide of his mother, which left an imprint on his entire work. Of great importance to the artist was his friendship with European Surrealists, in particular with Andre Breton and poet Edward James, who was a close friend and patron of Magritte.The artist was calm and undemanding. While his fellow Surrealists flaunted their lives, shocking the audience and attracting their attention, Magritte lived in solitude, earning his living by creating advertisements and illustrations for newspapers and magazines. This work was reflected in his art, in which the influence of advertising and poster art is noticeable.In each picture of the painter, which at first glance seems like a meaningless set of objects, there is a hidden deep meaning and secret subtext addressed to the human subconscious. The central character of the work often became a mysterious man in a bowler hat, the prototype of which many consider Magritte himself. The artist never explained the meaning of his paintings, leaving the viewer with many questions and guesses about the true meaning of the things depicted in his paintings.

German painter and sculptor, key figure in Neo-expressionism and one of post-war Germany’s most famous artists. He is famous for using atypical materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, wood, glass and shellac in his works. He also creates images for theaters and books.Kiefer’s style has developed under the influence of the philosophy of Kabbalah, mysticism and works of different spiritualists such as Robert Fludd. His works include symbolic elements connected with national identity, theology and mysticism.

A Chinese dissident artist, sculptor, architect, installation master, social and political activist. Ai Weiwei is known throughout the world as one of the creators of the project of the Olympic stadium "Bird's Nest" in Beijing and the author of bright, most often provocative compositions in which he draws attention to critical social problems.Many of the artist's works are criticized by the Chinese communist regime, for which he was repeatedly persecuted by the government. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at a Beijing airport and searched; Internet resources related to his name were blocked, and he was banned from leaving China. These events caused a great resonance in the world of art. Many artists and art figures supported Weiwei and organized protests in major cities in Europe and America.The works of the Chinese artist are art objects made of a wide variety of things, ranging from a huge chandelier to children's backpacks and sunflower seeds. Each of his works carries a strong emotional and semantic load; it is designed to draw public attention to unresolved problems and injustice in the structure of society in his country. Weiwei’s actual social theme, courage and perseverance in the fight for justice together with his original artistic vision make him one of the most prominent figures in contemporary art.

A Russian artist of Jewish origin, a vivid representative of the avant-garde of the first third of the 20th-century art. El Lissitzky is rightly classified as a “pioneer” in exposition design. His famous prouns (short for “projects of the approval of the new”) conquered Europe - the “Prouns' Room” was created in Berlin, and the principles developed by Lissitzky were used by such artists as V. Tatlin, P. Mondrian, etc.The role of Lissitzky in building effective bridges between the Western avant-garde and Russian post-revolutionary art in the 1920s was significant. Collaborating with many art magazines published in Berlin and Amsterdam, Lissitzky influenced the development of the international graphic design of the XX century and a whole generation of European artists.Lissitzky believed that the artist is an agent of social changes, who seeks and implements a new expressive language through posters with a bright visual effect, easily understood by all social layers in all countries of the world. The propaganda side of many of his works does not overshadow what the artist brought into the use of forms, solid colours, and their organization in the space of the work. His creative concept developed the branch when the totality of the work is a unique style that embodies painting, architecture and sculpture.The artist was an active member of the Jewish national cultural revival, organizer and participant in exhibitions, illustrator of Jewish literature. A valuable contribution to the development of art was his essay “Memories of the Mogilev Synagogue” published in 1923 in Berlin, the only theoretical work by Lissitzky dedicated to Jewish decorative art.

The full name the author gave this work is “Architectural fiction-illusion. The revealed aspiration, demonstration of the grandeur of the mass and the transfer of grandeur through circular, curvilinear and rectilinear combinations with their rich colours”.

This work is included in the collection "Architectural fantasies. 101 composition”, which is one of the most famous creations of Jacob Chernikhov. An unpleasant story is associated with this composition, as it was among 29 works of this cycle that were stolen from the central archive and replaced with fakes.

The figure demonstrates the main features of the architectural compositions of Yakov Chernikhov: asymmetry, dynamism and careful study of every detail. Many drawings of the architect served as illustrations for his theoretical works and were not intended to be embodied in real conditions.

The original architectural style of Yakov Chernikhov was based on his fundamental knowledge of ornament and rhythm. In his cycle with the unusual name “Aristography” he experimented a lot with form and space, rotating graphic elements of constructions in different directions and creating bizarre but impeccably accurate ornaments characterized by attractive rhythmic pulsation.

Like in his earlier works, the artist paid much attention to colours, carefully selecting the necessary shades and their combinations. In “Red Diagonal”, colours create a dynamic composition, thanks to the contrast between the neutral white and the defiant fiery red hue.

Sculptural works of Ellsworth Kelly echo the ideas of his paintings. They are abstract flat figures, dynamic and self-sufficient, based on natural forms.

Despite the strict shape, the “Yellow Curve” is not a regular geometric figure. This painting in intense canary colours has a completely irregular shape, as it has neither straight lines nor right angles.

Soon after returning from Paris, Kelly began to create works of a non-standard form instead of paintings from several colour panels. "Black over blue" is one of the most famous paintings by the artist in this series.

In this work, Ellsworth Kelly tried to convey the tension that exists between the figure and the background on which it is located. Despite its flat forms, the composition is very dynamic.

The abstract works of Ellsworth Kelly are based on natural forms. In the 1960s, he made a series of lithographs in the style of minimalism, in which he depicted tree leaves and fruits in the form of simplified flat figures.

This is an abstraction of bright, pure colours. The picture consists of seven equal panels and has a horizontal orientation – the author’s favorite format. During its creation, Ellsworth Kelly actively experimented in the style of neoplasticism with different colour ratios, studying their effect on each other and human perception.

In this work of his Parisian period, the artist compared various colours in random order, thus proving that their combinations create a certain atmosphere and mood depending on their location. Ellsworth Kelly drew inspiration in the outside world.

In his minimalist works, Ellsworth Kelly tried to reduce the importance of subjective factors and personal preferences of the performer. To do this, he used the element of chance, which he began to apply under the influence of Jean Arp and John Cage even during his stay in Paris after participating in the war.

The work consists of 64 squares of equal size, interconnected in one large panel. Each element of the picture has a particular colour and a specific place in the composition, which the artist most often determined intuitively.

A large bronze sculpture adorns one of the parks of the capital of Great Britain. It consists of abstract and figurative parts, as well as recognizable mechanical parts of industrial production combined into one composition on a low stone pedestal.

Eduardo Paolozzi completed his sculptural Isaac Newton for installation in front of the new British Library. The sculptor borrowed the scientist’s figure from the colour lithography of Symbolist artist William Blake, in which Newton is depicted with a measuring device in his hand.

The artist once noticed the plaster head of David Michelangelo in the shop window, where it was placed on a wooden chest of drawers. This strange combination inspired Eduardo Paolozzi, and he created a copy of this cast, cut it into several parts, between which he placed wooden inserts.

One of the most famous and largest projects by Eduardo Paolozzi is a mosaic at one of the London Underground stations. Having received an order for the design of a room the size of which was a thousand square meters, the artist pondered for a long time on how to make the image understandable to people who look at it while moving.

In the 1960s, Eduardo Paolozzi was interested in the technology of screen printing, which was actively used by American Pop art artists. He created a series of works in this technique; one of them named “The Silk World of Michelangelo” tells about the relationship between history and modernity, as well as between high art and modern advertising.

Eduardo Paolozzi made the mythological character Cyclops, who was huge and had one eye in the middle of his forehead, from parts of various mechanisms. The combination of a humanoid figure and mechanical elements is a frequent occurrence in the work of the artist, who thus expressed his attitude to technological progress.

Eduardo Paolozzi began to create his early collages under the influence of the works of Cubists and Dadaists, who were the first to use this method in their paintings in the first third of the 20th century. The artist composed “Real Gold” and several other similar works from parts of American newspapers and magazines that were left to him by soldiers temporarily staying in Paris.

During his two-year stay in Paris, Eduardo Paolozzi was fond of Surrealism. He was particularly influenced by famous avant-garde sculptor Alberto Giacometti, who used forms that simultaneously resembled living bodies and mechanical structures.

The work by Eduardo Paolozzi made in the collage technique, slightly smaller than a sheet for a typewriter, was the first work in the style of Pop art that had not emerged by that time yet. From childhood, the artist was fond of American culture; in his collages, he tried to convey the attractiveness of a calm and well-fed life overseas that was so different from the ruined and poor post-war Europe.

After completing the picturesque reliefs, the details of which protruded far enough from the surface of the canvases, Frank Stella began to create freestanding sculptural compositions. One of the first was “Prinz Friedrich” named after the play about love and war written by 18th-century German playwright Heinrich von Kleist.

In the series “Indian Birds” to which this work belongs, the artist experimented with the picturesque space both inside the picture and with the visual view from the outside. To create the work, he applied metal curls-spirals that protrude far ahead from the surface of the canvas.

“Empress of India” is one of the first figurative and non-figurative paintings of Stella, which has a form that is non-standard for painting. The work consists of four triangles connected in series, each of which differs from the neighboring by colour scheme.

Black and white monochrome works by Frank Stella pretty soon gave way to his bright and colourful compositions. His paintings, as before, consisted exclusively of strips of almost the same width, which uniformly covered the entire surface of the canvas.

The composition of the work consists of simple symmetrical patterns on a black background, converging to the center of the picture in the form of a cross. The human eye perceives the image as white stripes on a black background, although the artist applied black paint to the canvas, and the white parts are just unpainted fragments of the canvas.

The work is included in the famous Stella’s series entitled “Black Pictures”. The cycle turned over the idea of fine art with its simplicity and the absence of any meanings.

On Mornington-Crescent Street, the artist created at least a dozen works, depicting this place from various angles and under different lighting. In this work, the viewer seems to be at the foot of a high brick pipe, at which he looks from bottom to top.

J.Y.M is the initials of Juliet Yardley Mills, who was a professional model and posed for the artist twice a week for many years. Among all the images of Julia, this portrait, depicting a young woman sitting with her head thrown back, is the most expressive and bright.

Juliet Yardley Mills (J.Y.M.), the main model of Frank Auerbach since 1963, posed for this work. This is her first image of three portraits painted in 1981, which was completed in 20 sessions.

The artist rarely left London, only in case of emergency; he painted his landscapes mainly in the city. Primrose Hill is a square that was not far from the master’s studio; he depicted it many times, from different angles, at different times of the day and, therefore, under different lighting conditions.

Despite the innovative and semi-abstract style of painting, Frank Auerbach relied on classical art and famous works of old masters. The painting “Bacchus and Ariadne” was created based on the plot of the same work by Titian, but the artist rethought it in a completely new way.

In portraiture, Frank Auerbach does not set out to depict a person or reveal and show his feelings plausibly. The artist is more interested in the shape and structure of the object, its internal essence, which is expressed with the help of powerful and energetic strokes.

In this painting, we can see the living room in the house of the constant model of the artist actress Stella West, where Auerbach came to paint the mistress even three times a week for many years. The central part of the canvas is occupied by a lamp with a high leg, which is the main source of light in the picture; you can see Stella and her daughter Julia in armchairs on both sides of it.

The work painted in watercolours and charcoal depicts the permanent model of the artist, actress Estella West. By the time of painting it, Auerbach had already created about 80 pictures of this woman; the artist never got tired of his models, tirelessly depicting them in various poses and noticing the slightest changes that happen to the person every day.

In his early canvases, the artist often depicted his comrade, Leon Kossoff, an artist with whom he shared the London studio. Auerbach painted the face of his model very schematically, expressing his features with rough and sharp strokes.

After graduating from school, Frank Auerbach was going to be an actor. He got a role in one of London's amateur theaters, where he met actress Estella Olive West, who insisted that the young man should be a painter and became his permanent model.

One of the last works of Warhol, where the master switched from closely “viewing” and replicating celebrities of his time to world-famous politicians.

Many art connoisseurs and critics agree that Warhol's most successful artworks were self-portraits. In this late work, the author focused on the head and the wig (it is known that Andy, who had become bald early, wore wigs for many years).

This work in the silk-screen printing technique was included in the cycle “Endangered Species” (the name for the cycle “Animals in Make-up” is also found). The series, ten species of rare animals whose existence is under threat, was ordered by the gallery owners, famous animal defenders R. and F. Feldman. Grevy’s zebra that disappeared from some habitats is the rarest subspecies of the zebra family.

The series was created as the artist’s reaction to the visit of President Nixon to China. Warhol used a black and white image of Mao from a famous communist publication and painted hundreds of portraits of the totalitarian ruler of various sizes.

Among the works of Warhol, who rarely went beyond the context of American culture, there are four colourful portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. They were made based on official photographs taken during the celebration of the silver jubilee of the august person of the United Kingdom.

Warhol took an image for this work from the movie “Flaming Star” (1960). One of the paintings with the image of Elvis was first shown at the second solo exhibition of Warhol at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1963.

This is a work from the Death and Disaster series in which Warhol used images from daily newspapers. The author applied the photo-silk-screening method to duplicate the plot on the canvas. The repetitions of the image, its fragmentation and distortion are essential to create a strong effect - the artist wanted to shock the viewer.

The sudden death of superstar Monroe from an overdose of sleeping pills excited many. Warhol, passionate about pop culture, used a photograph of the actress from the movie Niagara (1953) for this work.

By the 1960s, the New York art world was filled with works in the style of abstract expressionism. Warhol became one of the artists who felt the need to return images to the visual arts. Interior designer and gallery owner M. Latow proposed him the idea of ​​depicting objects that people use every day.

The artist’s early works are characterized by a combination of neo-primitivism, expressionism and neo-dadaism. In this work, conditional and multi-scale figures (six of them) are placed in space arbitrarily.

Made in bright colours and a simplistic manner with large colour planes typical of the artist, the composition depicts two naked women. In this work, Tom Wesselmann paid tribute to the legacy of great Henri Matisse, quoting one of Matisse’s works and adding recognizable features of his creative manner to it.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Tom Wesselmann created a series of paintings, in which he depicted a nude model against a background of famous works of art. In addition to paintings by Piet Mondrian, who was one of the artist’s idols, he used paintings by R. Lichtenstein, E. Warhol and H. Matisse, paying tribute to these masters.

Although Tom Wesselmann insisted on the complete voidness of his work, the picture from the series “Bedrooms” depicting the face of a girl against the backdrop of a home interior evokes certain feelings. Bright makeup and naked breasts of the young woman look attractive, and her closed eyes indicate relaxation and enjoyment.

In the works of Tom Wesselmann of the 1980s, you can often find interesting compositions that consist of several separate canvases of an unusual shape. Usually, those are all the same objects that the author loved: smoking cigarettes, women's lips and breasts, meal and small household items, like lipstick or sunglasses.

The work belongs to the series of works “Drop Out”, which Tom Wesselmann created under the impression of his vacation on the sea coast. The special atmosphere of the sun-drenched beach and the relaxation of sunbathing bodies are reliably conveyed in this picture.

During his career, Tom Wesselmann created many images of a huge mouth with bright red puffy lips. This image has become a recognizable visiting card of the artist, a kind of symbol that is an integral part of popular culture and periodically appears in various interpretations.

This work from the famous Great American Nude series demonstrates all the main features of Tom Wesselmann's painting. The viewer can see an attractive lying girl, whose bright lips are the only visible part of her face, seductive nipples on her bare chest and shiny yellow hair.

Despite the fact that Tom Wesselmann denied that he was a representative of Pop art, this picture is an excellent example of this style. The still life depicts goods typical of America in the mid-20th century: white bread, a bottle of Coke, a can of stew, lemons and a pack of cigarettes.

The work is a collage of real objects and two-dimensional pictorial images. In the left part of the work, the artist placed a kitchen cabinet that can be opened and closed, as well as a part of a real sink above which an electric light is ignited.

Great American Nude is Tom Wesselmann's largest and most famous series of works. Here, he depicted a naked man lying on a bed in a room where a portrait of the president and a drawing of the American flag hanging on the wall.

The work of the late period created using colour schemes according to the canons of Neoplasticism (red, yellow, white, black) is also a tribute to Cubist principles. Geometrically presented figures of people are inscribed in a space also consisting of rectangles, squares, rhombuses and triangles.

From the 1930s, the paintings by the artist reflected a special orthogonal (direct, one-vector) structure into which the author inserted objects. In this work, these are different-sized ships, houses, a number of recognizable pictographic images (the sun, the moon and fish).

Returning to Montevideo (Uruguay), Torres Garcia founded the Southern School, in which he continued to put his creative concept into practice. He revised contemporary art theories and incorporated primitivism into the core of the new art program.

Some critics call a series of portraits by Torres, created in the late thirties and the early forties, strange. These works violated and ignored the dogmas developed by the artist.

One of the symbolic works of the great aesthetic project of Torres has a manifest value. The monumental work three meters high and 5.6 meters long reproduces rows of engraved pictographic drawings.

The composition is organized in accordance with the basics of Neoplasticism - the entire pictorial surface is structured by an orthogonal grid. Unlike works of Piet Mondrian, this drawing of Torres demonstrates the imperfection of hand-drawn lines, and the size of individual squares is dictated by the scale of the inscribed signs and inscriptions.

When Torres Garcia worked as a drawing teacher at the Mont d'Or school in Barcelona, ​​he concluded that the game is essential as an educational tool. In 1918, he began working together with a manufacturer of wooden toys.

While living in Paris, Torres Garcia met with Neoplasticist artists (Piet Mondrian and others) who were proponents of geometric abstraction as opposed to contemporary Surrealism. In accordance with this artistic trend, Torres Garcia began to use a strict geometric grid in his compositions as a means of preserving the two-dimensionality of the picture.

In the mid-1920s, returning from America to Europe, Torres worked in different genres based on the principles of Cubism and partly Expressionism. A few still lifes are likely to be philosophical.

The work relates to the period of the artist’s short stay in America, where he arranged the release of the author's wooden toys. By that time, Torres Garcia already had experience working with avant-garde artist R. Barradas and futurist writer Joan Salvat-Papasseit.

A few decades after her first experiments in colour rhythmic painting, a new development of the geometric form appeared in the works of Delaunay. Rectangles reduce the fluidity of rounded shapes, and this significant change indicates that the author continued to explore the topic throughout her career.

From the 1930s, Delaunay began to study the motives of “rhythms”, created compositions with the placement of a number of colours, complementing or contradicting each other. This work is of particular importance - it was created for the 15th annual exhibition of the Tuileries Salon in Paris.

The painting at the Aviation Palace in Paris is part of a series that Delaunay and her team of artists made for the International Exhibition of Art and Technology. The order marked the return of the artist to painting, attracted considerable attention to her, and was financially profitable for her.

Delaunay's career went far beyond the scope of visual art and included the design of interior design, clothing, fabrics and accessories. This canvas directly relates to her work as a designer of women's dresses - her textiles under the brand name Casa Sonia became popular and sold all over the world, without losing their relevance to this day.

Delaunay wrote, "Endlessly diverse images are promised to the one who knows how to appreciate colour relationships, the influence of one colour on another, their contrasts and dissonances." The canvas in the style of orphism offers the viewer just such images.

This long-format illustration of the poem by Blaise Cendrars is considered a "simultaneous book". The two-meter strip, folding like an accordion, demonstrates the technique of manipulating colour for maximum expression.

Terk-Delaunay's attention to how complementary colours react to each other was not limited to painting. The artist boldly applied this powerful technique to areas where such methods were not previously known - in the design of clothes and accessories, in the world of home decor items.

The work demonstrates Sonia’s great concentric circles at their best. The composition interpreted by the name as an ode to modernity refracts the lights and bustle of Saint-Michel Boulevard into almost complete abstraction.

The flow of colour and rhythm depicts several pairs (or one rotating in dance) under multi-coloured electric lights - the latest Parisian sensation. The painting was panoramic and the largest of the four versions - 3.9 m long and was the first work where the artist used contrasting colours such as blue and orange, located next to each other for maximum intensity.

One of the earliest figurative works demonstrates the author’s fascination with Post-impressionism; in particular, Fauvism. The artist contrasts the warm yellow skin of the model with the strokes of the colour of cold emerald.

The Mural # 1136 is a bright, cheerful painting abstractly. This is a curve consisting of strips of different colours that make it similar to a tape.

Throughout his creative career, Sol LeWitt experimented with various areas of art, including painting, sculpture and performance. This conceptual work is an installation intended for placement on a wall.

In this work, Sol LeWitt used two white cubes, which he connected slightly shifting them relatively each other. According to the artist, the most interesting characteristic of the cube is that it practically does not represent any interest in itself and therefore serves as an excellent material for its meaningless conceptual compositions.

The drawing on the wall is made with an ordinary H6 graphite pencil. The composition is divided into fifteen equal vertical sections, each of which is filled with thin lines that LeWitt's assistants drew using a ruler.

In 1968, Sol LeWitt, in the presence of several witnesses, buried one of his cubes in the ground, containing, according to him, something important but completely not valuable. The burial of the cube, which the artist made himself, symbolizes his parting with Minimalism.

This work became a transitional phase from minimalism, which focuses on the form of the subject, to conceptual art, which implies the existence of a specific idea, on which the whole composition is based.

One of the well-known modular structures of Sol LeWitt consists of five cubes horizontally interconnected. The cube became the main form of the artist’s works in the mid-1960s, and all of his sculptures of this period consisted of these geometric elements, with different sizes and colours.

After working on this sculpture, which Sol LeWitt called "structure", the artist began to move away from monolithic compositions. Here he used transparent, open forms, allowing you to see the design of the work fully.

One of the few paintings by the artist has contrasting red and white colours. The entire painting is divided into nine equal squares, in several of which Sol LeWitt placed inscriptions.

To create this early work, Sol LeWitt used traditional materials: canvas, oil and painted wood. The picture is a square canvas of saturated blue covered with a dense texture; there is a bright red wooden square in the middle.

The nude works created in the 1990s were combined by the author in the Late Nudes series. In these paintings, Lichtenstein returned to the figures from the comic and works in a similar but somewhat modified technique.

A few decades after the creation of his outrageous “comic” paintings, Roy Lichtenstein was able to shock the public again by creating a series of works repeating the paintings of the great artists of modernism.

Creating his works, Lichtenstein wanted them to look as if they were printed. To do this, he used the methods of raster printing, in which large areas are filled not with a solid colour but with the help of small dots.

Having rather limited artistic means at his disposal, Roy Lichtenstein could convey the emotions and atmosphere of the moment to the viewer. The faces of a man and a woman, shown in close-up, resemble a photograph painted in bright colours or a poster.

This scene from the comic is depicted by the author in his manner using bold black contours and only three colours: yellow, blue and red. Lichtenstein transmitted the speed with which the car was traveling using dashed lines parallel to the plane of the canvas.

One of Lichtenstein's most famous paintings is a diptych depicting aerial combat. During the Second World War, the artist served in Europe, and what he saw during the war formed the basis of the plot of the picture.

To create the composition, the artist used a scene from a comic strip, as he did in his other works. Lichtenstein did not completely redraw the plot from the magazine but cut the image in half.

Sometimes instead of beauties and couples in love from comics, inanimate objects appear as the central character in the paintings by Roy Lichtenstein. Most often, these are various “smart” machines - housekeepers, which are not only convenient but also prestigious house items.

The work was created under the influence of the famous "Black Square" by Malevich. The canvas created in a comic book technique, which Lichtenstein had already been actively using that time, depicts a man looking into a dark room through a peephole.

The first work of Roy Lichtenstein from a series of paintings based on comics. The idea to create a work in this style came to the artist spontaneously when his little son asked him to paint a picture from his favorite Mickey Mouse comic strip.

The theme of space travel, which was extremely popular in the 1960s, often appears in the works of Robert Rauschenberg. In July 1969, NASA leadership invited the artist to their base, so that he would photograph the launch of the Apollo 11 ship.

The full-size lithography consists of six x-rays against the background of dimmer images of several random objects and drawings. These are photographs of Robert Rauschenberg himself, so the artist considered the picture a self-portrait or "self-portrait of an inner man".

Andy Warhol introduced Robert Rauschenberg to the silk-screen printing technique in which this work was made. The artist liked this method of creating paintings, and he performed a series of works using this printing method.

The figure of John F. Kennedy often appears in the works of Robert Rauschenberg related to the 1960s. The artist was a big fan of this politician, and the murder of the president shocked him very much, forcing him to return to this image again and again.

"Canyon" is one of the most outstanding works, which Rauschenberg made using mixed media. The attention of the viewer is immediately attracted by the impressive figure of the eagle with outstretched wings, which is located in the center of the composition.

In his works from the Combination series, Robert Rauschenberg resorted to volumetric objects, which he fastened to a flat base. But in the work "Monogram" he went even further, making this object completely voluminous.

The first installation of Robert Rauschenberg from the Comines series created from various household items combined with traditional materials. The work is on the verge of collage, painting and sculpture and has the form of an ordinary bed.

Это произведение Роберт Раушенберг выполнил совместно со своим другом и творческим партнером  Джоном Кейджем. Для того чтоб создать его, Раушенберг попросил друга проехать на его машине по 23 листам бумаги для принтера, склеенным в одну длинную полосу.

Initially, the “White Pictures” by Robert Rauschenberg was perceived by many as outright mockery. The absence of a trace of any intervention by the artist on an almost pure white surface puzzles the viewer and suggests that this may be some kind of rally. In fact, the artist managed to express a lot with the help of his white canvases.

This is the author’s amusing fantasy about a meeting between the popular pop group Spice Girls and the Rock and Roll King Elvis Presley - idols of different generations and different countries. The famous musician poses in front of the cameras, enjoying the company of pretty half-naked girls.

The work depicts a meeting of three famous British artists: David Hockney, Howard Hodgkin and Peter Blake himself. It was created after these three avant-garde painters met in 1979 in Los Angeles.

The heroes of the work - an owl and a cat traveling by a toy boat - resemble soft plush toys that children like to sleep with. These characters in the painting by Peter Blake symbolize a childhood that quickly ends and leaves vivid or disturbing memories.

Peter Blake's most famous work, reflecting the mood and psychedelic culture of the 1960s. Blake worked on the collage together with American artist Jenn Haworth, whom he had married shortly before.

The artist made the portrait of his longtime friend and colleague David Hockney, who by that time was a popular figure in the art world, of photographs. The picture was taken by famous photographer Michael Cooper - he photographed the fair-haired artist in his recognizable glasses with a massive horn-rimmed frame.

This collage was made in a bright decorative style. The entire canvas is divided into identical squares, in each of which the artist placed various images.

Here, the artist depicted himself standing in the garden at full height, in jeans clothes and with a lot of badges on his jacket. The work contains several details indicating Peter Blake's fascination with American culture.

The essence of the performance, which took place at the New York Museum of Modern Art, was that everyone could sit in front of Marina Abramovic and silently look into her eyes for several minutes.

“House with the ocean view” consists of three small rooms, without a ceiling and front wall, installed in an exhibition hall. In these rooms, Marina Abramovic spent 12 days without food, communication, or any connection with the outside world.

The work was presented at the Venice Biennale and won the Golden Lion prize at the competition. For four days, Marina Abramovic washed a mountain of bloody cow bones, which symbolized the victims of the war in Yugoslavia.

The performance, which was conceived as a joyful, solemn event, turned out to be ultimately sad.

The central theme of this performance was the relationship between a man and a woman and the importance of trust in a relationship. For their experiment, Marina and Ulay used a real bow and a sharp arrow, which was aimed directly at Abramovic’s chest.

In this performance, Abramovic and her partner Ulay checked their endurance. They sat with their backs to each other, tied their hair into one common knot and sat motionless for 16-17 hours every day during the exhibition.

The early performances of Marina Abramovic often included elements of self-torture and even masochism. During one of them, which was called "Thomas Lips", the artist depicted a star on her stomach with a sharp blade.

In the performance that made her famous, Marina Abramovic assigned herself a passive role. The naked artist was simply in the room where dozens of various items, such as perfume, rose, scissors, honey, salt and a loaded gun, were laid out on the table.

One of the first famous performances of Marina Abramovic, which became one of the most dangerous. On the floor of the room, the young artist laid out a five-pointed star made of wood, doused it with oil and set it on fire.

The late work of Fontana completed in the last year of his life is a completely white canvas, covered with thick pasty paint. In the middle of the canvas, the artist made a hole that has torn edges also densely covered with white pigment and turned outward.

The work is large and has a large number of strip-slots on its surface. Symmetrical cuts on white canvas are arranged in two rows - such a composition is rarely found in the works of Lucio Fontana.

Lucio Fontana created his first paintings with cuts on abstract canvases with coloured figures, but after a while, he started working on completely monochrome canvases. This change might have occurred under the influence of the work of contemporary artist Yves Klein, who used pure bright shades, especially blue, to create his works.

The artist began to create pictures in the shape of an egg in the late period of his work. In these works, he used his famous “holes” pierced with a knife, as well as various materials with an unusual structure that creates interesting effects on the surface of the canvas.

The work belongs to the series of paintings "Venice", which consists of 22 canvases made in an abstract style that echoes the Baroque. The artist used a dark background covered with a thick layer of paint using the impasto technique.

Unlike in his other works from the “cuts” series, Fontana used small unpainted canvas in this one. He made a diagonal incision with a sharp blade, and placed a black fabric behind, which creates the illusion of a bottomless abyss and infinity.

The talent of Lucio Fontana as a sculptor is manifested in a series of his works under the general title "Nature". In them, as well as in the picturesque paintings “Spatial Concepts”, the artist applied his famous method of cutting, dividing the amorphous spherical figure in half with the help of a surgically accurate and even line.

In parallel with his experiments in the field of painting, Lucio Fontana created conceptual things, such as "Neon Structure." It is a tortuous composition of a lighted neon tube.

One of the first paintings by Fontana, in which he violated the flat and even surface of the canvas, piercing it with a knife. Instead of creating the illusion of the image by applying paint to the canvas, the artist gave viewers an opportunity to look into the space behind the painting, which turns out to be unexpectedly deep and mysterious, as if the painting is a portal to a completely different dimension.

Lucio Fontana began his creative career as a sculptor and continued, in parallel with painting, to engage in sculpture until the end of his career. A series of his ceramic works of 1946-1948 after the war is dedicated to battles and warriors, which might be his reaction to the just-ended World War II.

The reflective and transparent qualities of plexiglass served the artist’s desire to modulate and activate light - his favorite medium. He strove to create the impression of movement often in unexpected ways and achieved unusual effects in this, using sheets with defects, as in this work.

Moholy-Nagy made a series of photographs of the Berlin Radio Tower built in 1926. This famous photograph was taken from a “deliberately disorienting point of view”, which makes it look more like a complex interaction of abstract geometric shapes than a city scene.

While the first abstract paintings by Moholy-Nagy had opaque geometric shapes and resembled works of El Lissitzky, this one shows that the author developed a unique idiom.

Moholy-Nagy took this photograph while traveling with O. Schlemmer, an artist and his Bauhaus colleague, to Swiss Ascona. This gloomy (which is not typical for the author) image shows two baby dolls lying on a white napkin in a cage on a concrete floor.

This is a work from the series "Photograms", which the author created by placing objects on photosensitive paper. The object of the image — in this case, the artist’s hand — was placed above the “canvas” to leave white figures. This is essentially a photograph without using a camera.

In this collage work, the car rushes along a winding road built from the word “Pneumatik”, referring to a new type of tire. The author considered the work as a key example of the genre, which expresses the "new pace of visual culture".

The author identified this work with Сonstructivism, which appeared in Russia in the 1910s and in the 1920s swept the west, partly due to the activities of the Bauhaus, which is considered the most significant outpost of Сonstructivism in Europe.

Abstract geometric composition conveys a sense of minimalism of architectural order. The background is divided by a black vertical stripe intersected by a small yellow horizontal rectangle at the bottom.