Alexander Archipenko: The Berlin Drawings (PrintHouston 2014)

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and PrintMatters present Alexander Archipenko: The Berlin Drawings, on view May 15, 2014 – Aug 17, 2014 in the Beck Building, on the ground floor.

One of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century, Russian-born artist Alexander Archipenko (1887–1964) was central to the emergence of Modernism.

Although known primarily for his sculpture, Archipenko executed a number of drawings as well, a group of which form the centerpiece of Alexander Archipenko: The Berlin Drawings. The exhibition features 30 of his drawings, executed in the early 1920s—shortly before Archipenko’s emigration to the United States in 1923—when he was living, working and teaching in Berlin. Also included are three of his sculptures, together with photographs, works on paper and books from other artists of that time period, all from the Museum’s permanent collection.

Archipenko’s important drawings, which the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, recently acquired, depict the female figure in dynamic compositions that reflect the ideologies of Cubism and Futurism, as well as Art Deco fashion plates, Baroque sculpture and Russian icons.

Alexander Archipenko: The Berlin Drawings is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The curator is Dena M. Woodall, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings.

The exhibition is in conjunction with PrintHouston 2014, a summer-long celebration of original prints, the artists who create them, and the people who collect them.  For more information about PrintHouston 2014 visit http://www.printmattershouston.org/printhouston-2014.

Pictured: Alexander Archipenko, Women IV, watercolor and graphite on paper, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © 2013 Estate of Alexander Archipenko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.