After flirtations with Realism,
Impressionism, and Symbolism, Kiev-born
Kazimir Malevich (1878–1935) found his métier in dissolving literal, representational figures and landscapes into
pure emotionally-charged abstraction. In 1915, he created what is widely lauded as the
first and ultimate abstract artwork:
Black Square, a black rectangle on a white background, hailed as the “zero point of painting,” a
seminal moment for modern and abstract practice.
In this book, we follow Malevich’s key innovations and ideas and place his groundbreaking achievements within the context of both the
Russian and global avant-garde. Through rich illustrations of his work, we explore the artist’s theory of
Suprematism, based on severe geometric abstraction and “
the supremacy of pure feeling in creative art”; his leading role in the development of
Constructivism; as well as his interests in philosophy, literature, Russian folk art, and the fourth dimension.
