Oleksandra Ekster
Encounter the influential Ukrainian artist and the pioneer of avant-garde art who has left an indelible mark on the world of visual arts
Oleksandra Ekster was born into a family of ancient Ukrainian nobility. Her father was a general and owned extensive land properties.
Oleksandra Exter by © Andréi Nakov, Paris, 2012 This text is part of a notice written by Andréi Nakov for the Encyclopedia of Modern Art, a collective work in several volumes, published in Russian in Moscow in 2013.CFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
After completing her art education in Kyiv, Oleksandra journeyed to Western Europe, where she had transformative encounters with luminaries such as Picasso, Georges Braque, Léger, and Apollinaire.
Her art were showcased in numerous exhibitions across Europe
Ekster was an Amazon of the Avant-Garde. It is unknown how the world's stage design would have developed if she had not participated in its radical reform. In her Kyiv studio, Ekster innovatively combined cubo-futurism, constructivism, folk primitivism, and themes of antiquity.
Oleksandra Exter by From the Dictionnaire universel des créatrices © 2013 Des femmes – Antoinette Fouque © Archives of Women Artists, Research and ExhibitionsCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Returning to Kyiv with the gained artistic experience, Ekster gave a new meaning to the latest Western European trends applying folk art & theatrical nature in her creative works. She also joined the Supremus group founded by Malevych.
Stage Design for Don Juan in Hell (c. 1929) by Alexandra A. ExterThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Ekster also taught art, encouraging artists to refuse narrative depictions and craft images using colors and rhythms instead. Additionally, stage design held a prominent place in Ekster's array of interests.
Unfortunately, due to the rise of the Stalinist regime, the political situation became increasingly restrictive for artists and intellectuals from Ukraine. Oleksandra Ekster, like many other creative minds, faced difficulties and censorship. In 1923, she left the Soviet Union and later settled in France, where she lived in emigration for the rest of her life.
Text: based on text by Kateryna Nosko
Original text is from the album of the Prominent Ukrainians project, published jointly by Pictoric Illustrators Club, Pavlo Gudimov Ya Gallery Art Center, Artbook Publishing House and Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Photo:
© 2013 Des femmes – Antoinette Fouque
© Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions
© Andréi Nakov, Paris, 2012.
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