Suprematism
Description
Suprematism (Russian: супремати́зм) is an early 20th-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term suprematism refers to an abstract art based upon "the supremacy of pure artistic feeling" rather than on the figurative depiction of real-life subjects. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Kazimir Malevich
Founder and supreme theorist of Suprematism who liberated art from objective reality, developing pure geometric abstraction centered on squares and circles.
El Lissitzky
Key disciple who bridged Suprematism and Constructivism through his three-dimensional 'Proun' projects and revolutionary political graphic design.
Olga Rozanova
Pioneering Suprematist painter and color theorist whose dynamic vertical stripes and radical compositions explored color vibration and spatial tension.
Liubov Popova
Leading Russian avant-garde master who integrated Cubo-Futurist dynamics with Malevich's geometric Suprematist planes before moving into Constructivism.
Ivan Kliun
Close friend and supporter of Malevich who exhibited at the 0,10 Exhibition and explored non-objective color relationships and sculptural reliefs.
Aleksandra Ekster
Influential painter and stage designer who contributed to the Supremus group and incorporated non-objective geometry into revolutionary theatrical design.
Famous Artworks
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Fun Facts
At the landmark 1915 'Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0,10' in Petrograd, Kazimir Malevich hung his revolutionary Black Square high up across the top corner of the room - the sacred traditional location reserved in Russian Orthodox homes for religious icons.
↗ Source: britannica.com
When Malevich died in 1935, his followers designed a custom Suprematist coffin decorated with a black square and a red circle, and mourners carried banners bearing the black square during his funeral procession through Leningrad.
↗ Source: tate.org.uk