Avant-garde art Groupings and Movements

The artists in Russia were consumed with a search for new ways to express themselves, their ideas and the the changes taking place around. These searches were on the one hand, uniting the whole future phenomenon of Russian Avant-garde art, but on the other hand, divided them into groups of different approaches, ideas, styles, theories and understandings. The various groups formed around leading artists and teachers, whom they admired, whose ideas they shared and studied, and under whose guidance they explored and developed their own individual approaches and styles.

Nikolai Suetin. 1923-1924.
An Inkstand With Lid
in Suprematism.
UNOVIS movement.

The groups served as organizers for exhibitions and debates, published journals, wrote theoretical essays and brochures, developed pedagogical approaches, and facilitated the collection of orders, such as theatre productions or book illustrations.

Some artists chose to belong to this or that group, some joined several, or passed from one to another, as they matured as artists.

Some groups were more formal than others, and had greater impact. They had names, memberships, administrator-members and founder-members, manifestos of artistic line, and a clear direction. Some groups had a greater impact on the global development of the whole art, than others, and so they are called "Movements" to differentiate them.

Marc Chagall. 1914.
Over Vitebsk.
Union of Youth movement.

Not all of the many groupings of that time are represented on this site as Movements, but only the major ones, those with the higher impact or importance on the Russian Avant-garde art phenomenon. They were chosen by my mother, and I have not added to them. Perhaps, in time, I shall do that. In the meanwhile - you will find the list of movements at the left, in the "Movements & Groups" menu. By going to the next box, you shall also find a comparative interactive timeline I have prepared to make a clearer understanding of the time of operation of these groups.

In addition, there are a couple of centrally-important key styles or streams which encompassed many artists and whose importance caused them to be considered equal to Movements, as well. Such are the Mass and Agit Art, and the Official Art Movements.

The unaffiliated artists are grouped together for convenience: this group lists artists who were not affiliated with any Movement, and yet have their own just place in the Russian Avant-garde art phenomenon.

See the List of Groups.

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