Alexander Vesnin

Alexander Vesnin studied civil engineering in St Petersburg, graduating in 1912; during his studies, he also attended Konstantin Yuon’s school in Moscow in 1909 and Jan Ciągliński’s studio in St Petersburg in 1911. This combination of architectural training and artistic practice remained central to his career, which brought together architecture, painting and theatre design. After working in Vladimir Tatlin’s studio, he became involved with the avant-garde and in 1918 collaborated with his brother Viktor on the decoration of Red Square for the May Day celebrations, an experience that led to further work in stage design. His engagement with the new artistic culture continued through his teaching at VKhUTEMAS and his involvement with the Institute of Artistic Culture (Inkhuk), as well as his participation in the pioneering 5 × 5 = 25 exhibition in 1921 alongside Popova, Stepanova, Exter and Rodchenko. In 1925, together with Moisei Ginzburg, he founded the OSA group and subsequently co-edited its journal Sovremennaya arkhitektura (Contemporary Architecture). As the political climate hardened during the 1930s, opportunities for architectural experimentation narrowed, and Vesnin increasingly devoted himself to painting and drawing.

Alexander Rodchenko / Vladimir Tatlin / Lyubov Popova / Varvara Stepanova