Archipenko: A Modern Legacy

“Archipenko was a leading force in French Cubism, Italian Futurism and German Expressionism, as well as with organizations including the Section d’or, Der Sturm and the Société Anonyme. His art is celebrated internationally.”

“Most notably, he integrated negative space as a sculptural form, reintroduced color into sculpture, employed concave and convex shapes to abstract the human figure, and brought mixed media to the field.”

- Alexandra Keiser

Archipenko: A Modern Legacy offers a fresh assessment of Alexander Archipenko, a pioneer of modern sculpture. Featuring more than 50 sculptures, mixed media reliefs, and works on paper, the exhibition spans Archipenko’s entire career. The exhibition highlights the artist’s manifold abstractions of the figure and the breadth of his creative legacy that has informed our thinking of modern sculpture in the discernible constant of the Archipenko style.

This is a major retrospective exhibition of the life and work of Alexander Archipenko, a maverick in modern sculpture, whose creations remain as important today as they were when they were initially conceived in the twentieth century. Drawn from major museum collections as well as private holdings, the exceptional objects chosen for this exhibition will convey the richness of Archipenko’s vision as a innovator of modern art. In addition to the art works, never-before exhibited examples from the artist’s archives, including annotated photographs of sculptures, sketches, installation views, patent drawings for his machine “Archipentura,” and lecture transcripts, will offer an unprecedented view into the artist’s creative process and philosophy.

Since 2002, Alexandra Keiser is the research curator at the Archipenko Foundation, where her responsibilities include the preparation of the Archipenko Sculpture Catalogue Raisonné. She received her M.A. from the University in Trier, and her PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

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