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The Arts Intel Report

Archipenko and the Italian Avant Garde

Alexander Archipenko, Boxers, 1913–1914.

May 4 – Sept 4, 2022
39A Canonbury Square, London N1 2AN, United Kingdom

The Ukrainian sculptor Alexander Archipenko was born in Kyiv in 1887, but life brought him to Paris, where he settled in 1909. In the French capital, he absorbed Cubism and applied its geometric principles to his sculptures of the human form. A few hundred miles away, the Futurist movement in Italy was gaining steam and the young Umberto Boccioni studied Archipenko’s work attentively. Before long, the Italians were creating their own avant-garde “aerosculptures.” This fascinating exhibition pairs art by Archipenko with works by those he influenced. —Elena Clavarino

Photo: © Estate of Alexander Archipenko/ARS/courtesy of the Archipenko Foundation