Antoine Pevsner

Born: 1884, Oryol or Klimovichi (Mohilev Province)
Died: 1962, Paris

Sculptor, painter, graphic artist, theatrical designer, teacher. Elder brother of Naum Gabo. Born as Nota (Anton/Nathan) Pevzner in the family of a Jewish engineer called Berko Pevzner and his wife Agrippina (Fanny) Ozersky in either the city of Oryol or the small town of Klimovichi in Mohilev Province (1884). Studied at the Kiev School of Art (1902–09) and the Imperial Academy of Arts (1909). Moved to Paris (1911), where he was influenced by Cubism and met Alexander Archipenko and Amedeo Modigliani (1911–13). Joined his younger brothers Alexei and Naum in Christiania (Oslo), where he worked on non-objective paintings and sculptures (1914–15). Returned to Moscow (1917), where he worked for IZO Narkompros and taught at the State Free Art Studios (from 1918). Co-signed Naum Gabo’s Realistic Manifesto (1920). Emigrated to Berlin (1923) and settled in Paris (1923), where he sculpted abstract works. Founding member of Abstraction-Création (1931). Created sculptures from bent constructions consisting of metallic threads and strips entitled Projection in Space, Dynamic Construction and Developing Surface (1930s). Widely recognised for his contributions to Constructivism (1940s–50s). Awarded the Légion d’honneur (1961). Died in Paris and buried at the Russian cemetery in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois with his Flight sculpture as a gravestone (1962). Contributed to exhibitions, including the First Exhibition of Pictures of the Trade Union of Artists at the Art Salon in Moscow (1918), V State Exhibition: From Impressionism to Non-Objectivity at the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow (1918–19), one-day open-air exhibition with Naum Gabo and Gustav Klucis on Tver Boulevard in Moscow (1920), Die erste russische Kunstausstellung in the Galerie Van Diemen at 21 Unter den Linden in Berlin (1922), Salon des Indépendants (from 1925), Salon d’Automne (from 1926), exhibitions of modern art in Amsterdam, London, Chicago and New York (1934–36), Venice Biennale (1958), Russian Futurism and David Burliuk, “Father of Russian Futurism” at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2000), Abstraction in Russia: XX Century at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2001–02), Russian Paris 1910–1960 at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2003), The Avant-Garde: Before and After at Europalia in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels (2005), joint exhibitions with Naum Gabo in Paris (1924), Naum Gabo and Theo van Doesburg in New York (1926), Naum Gabo in New York (1948) and Max Bill and Georges Vantongerloo in Zurich (1949) and one-man shows in Paris (1947, 1957).

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