Constructivism Art Movement: A Guide to Constructivist Art

Constructivism was a Russian avant-garde art movement that used geometric shapes and industrial materials. Constructivists created artworks that reflected communist ideals, dedicated to benefiting the common good, and promoted a utopian society. The Constructivism art movement grew during the early twentieth century out of the Russian Revolution. It grew alongside Suprematism, another abstract art movement in Russia at that time.

Constructivism influenced the worlds of art and politics in Russia during the early twentieth century.

• The creation of Constructivism: During the early 1900s, a Russian artist named Vladimir Tatlin worked alongside Kazimir Malevich in the Cubo-Futurist art movement (an amalgamation of Cubism and Futurism). Tatlin traveled to Paris in 1913 and encountered Pablo Picasso’s relief construction Still Life (1914). Inspired, Tatlin began creating his own three-dimensional reliefs. In 1915, Tatlin displayed a series of constructions called Corner Counter-Relief at The Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0,10. His artwork appeared alongside Malevich’s Suprematist paintings.
• Tatlin’s Tower and the First Working Group of Constructivists: In 1919, Tatlin unveiled a model for a towering structure called the Monument of the Third International, commonly known as Tatlin’s Tower. Although never constructed, the ambitious designs influenced ideas about architecture in Russia. A group of Russian artists working in a variety of mediums founded the First Working Group of Constructivists. This group put together the controversial 5x5=25 exhibition in the fall of 1921, establishing Russian Constructivism as a formidable art movement.
• Constructivism beyond Russia: Constructivist artist El Lissitsky partnered with Dutch artists from the De Stijl movement and later established a presence in Germany. They influenced Bauhaus, a German architecture and design movement. The Constructivist movement continued west to London when Russian artists Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner fled the country at the beginning of World War II. Constructivism ended in Russia with the creation of the socialist realism movement, which depicted an idealized version of everyday life in the Soviet Union.

Constructivist art encompasses a wide range of art mediums.

1. 1. Textile design: After the Russian Revolution, Russia lost touch with the fashion industry centered in Paris. In need of new industrial designs for furniture and clothing, Constructivist artists like Varvara Stepanova and Lyubov Popova developed new textile designs for mass production.
2. 2. Graphic design: Artists like Gustav Klutsis and Alexander Rodchenko used photomontage to create new styles of graphic design with bold lettering.
3. 3. Architecture and sculpture: Constructivists developed new styles of architecture and sculpture. El Lissitzky sketched designs for Cloud Iron (1924), a collection of skyscrapers with wide horizontal surfaces at the top. Vladimir Tatlin created Letatlin (1932), a flying apparatus made from industrial materials.
4. 4. Painting: Largely inspired by the Suprematism art movement, Constructivist paintings used colorful geometric forms like squares, circles, crosses, and lines over plain backgrounds.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Constructivism art movement, explore the work of these Constructivist artists.

1. 1. Vladimir Tatlin (1885–1953): The founding father of Constructivism, Tatlin explored ways that industrial materials could be used in artworks to improve communist society. One of his earliest paintings, The Sailor: Self-Portrait (1911), incorporated different textures of paint and a style influenced by other modern art movements like Cubism and Futurism.
2. 2. Lyubov Popova (1889–1924): Born in Moscow, Lyubov Popova grew up with an appreciation for Cubism and Futurism. Popova focused on dynamism, or the representation of movement in art, creating several dynamic artworks during her career—like Composition with Figures (1913) and Painterly Architectonic (1917).
3. 3. Alexander Rodchenko (1891–1956): Kazimir Malevich, the founder of Suprematism, coined the term Constructivist to describe Rodchenko and his work. Rodchenko’s photographs often used tilted angles and unusual perspectives to capture everyday objects, as seen in The Staircase (1930). With photomontage artworks like Books (Please)! In All Branches of Knowledge (1924), Rodchenko developed new graphic design styles for mass production.
4. 4. El Lissitzky (1890–1941): El Lissitzky was a versatile artist who worked in several mediums throughout his career. He became deeply political, creating artworks like Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (1919), a piece of Soviet propaganda representing the Bolsheviks defeating the anti-communist White Army.

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