Varvara Stepanova
Russia (1894—1958)Born in present-day Lithuania, Stepanova studied at the Kazan School of Art, where she met Aleksandr Rodchenko, her lifelong partner. They moved to Moscow in 1912, where she continued her studies at the Stroganov School and became acquainted with Futurist poets and visual poetry, including Zigra Ar and Gaust Chaba. After the Revolution, she began working to make art accessible to the masses. Together with Rodchenko and Gan, she co-founded the Working Group of Constructivists. Her practice encompassed poetry, graphic design, philosophy and clothing design. With Liubov Popova, she worked as a textile designer at Tsindel, the First State Textile Printing Factory in Russia, and later became Professor of Textile Design at the Higher Art and Technical Studios (VKhUTEMAS). She also worked in theatre and costume design, producing works ranging from painting to decorative design. With Rodchenko, she contributed to political journals such as LEF and Novyi LEF. She died in 1958.
