Description

Painterly Architectonic (Still Life: Instruments) by Liubov Popova is a key work to understanding the evolution of Russian art from Cubism to abstraction. In the so-called Painterly Architectonics, Popova began to explore the possibilities of an abstract vocabulary, pursuing Malevich’s ideas. The choice of the term “Architectonics” stems from her intention of highlighting the constructive aspects of the image and the creation of rhythms of deeply coloured, layered planes in order to achieve highly structured compositions. 

The canvas, which is one of the earliest of the set, retains a few references to the Cubist world of objects – as seen in the guitar silhouette, but is more geometrised with layered “floating” planes.

Although she officially gave up painting in 1922 to concentrate on design, Popova, the “artist-constructor” as her contemporaries called her, was one of the staunchest advocates of abstract art in Russia.