Black, White and Red

Material

Wood and metal, painted polychrome; height: 172.2 cm

Dating

1957

About the artwork

‘Black, White and Red’ belongs to Alexander Archipenko’s late works in the field of ‘sculpto-painting’, an art form, which he had developed in 1912. The artist had not worked in this genre for over 30 years when he revealed eight new sculpto-pieces, including ‘Black, White and Red’, at an exhibition in 1957.
‘Sculpto-painting’ combines reliefs with painting and explores the interplay of two- and three-dimensionality. Thereby, the possibilities of painting create new aspects and are used to either reinforce or to lessen the effect of three-dimensionality. This interaction of different elements leads to tensions, rhythmisation and dynamisation which the classical relief or painting solely could not create. While light and shadow are only painted illusions when it comes to conventional painting, they are real in ‘sculpto-painting’.
His creations challenged the then dominant concepts of art. Sculptures used to be monochromatic at that time, but his works gleamed in diverse and luscious colours. Instead of established materials such as marble, bronze or plaster he used wood, glass, metal and wires. Another focus in Archipenko’s work is the experimenting with omissions. He consciously created tensions by forming hollow spaces and concaves, thereby challenging the audience. This shows the influence of Chinese aesthetics in his work, which acknowledges emptiness as an activity.
Archipenko explained his creativity in the field of ‘sculpto-painting’ as follows: “form without colour cannot be perceived. Since 1921 I have studied the relation of form and colour, because I believe that the reconciliation of these two is most important. To me, the interplay of form and colour serves as inspiration as well as a form of expression in the field of beauty and metaphysics.”

About the artist

The Ukrainian artist is considered to be one of the most important and most influential sculptors of the 20th century. The son of a mechanic studied painting and sculpture at the Art Academy in Kiev from 1902 to 1905. But after criticising the academy’s teaching methods, Archipenko received a reprimand and started to work independently in Moscow. In 1908 he left for Paris with the goal to join European artist circles and gain their recognition.
During his stay in Paris, Archipenko was inspired by various fellow artists, among them Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Archipenko was one of the first artists who transferred Cubism from painting to sculpture, which led to his nickname ‘Picasso of sculpture’. But Archipenko was also a painter and invented the so-called ‘sculpto-painting’, which uses form and construction principles and combines them with reliefs and collage effects. In addition, he also developed the ‘Archipentura’, which was named after him and consists of movable paintings powered by an engine. His creativity and his quest for new forms of expression turned him into one of the most important artists of the 20th century.