Suprematism

What is suprematism?

Suprematism is a movement that strips painting of all narrative and of any reference to the visible world, letting pure shape, colour and surface speak alone. You will find no landscape or figure here, only a square, a circle or a cross. The painter does not want to depict the things around us but feeling itself and pure form.

When and how did it come about?

The movement was founded by the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich in the second decade of the twentieth century, at a time when many artists were searching for an entirely new visual language. Its most iconic work is Black Square, a plain black field on a white ground, which Malevich regarded as a kind of starting point for a new art. What could be more radical than beginning entirely from zero?

Who are its most important figures?

The central, founding figure is without doubt Kazimir Malevich, whose name is almost synonymous with suprematism. Around him, though, formed a circle of other makers of the Russian avant-garde who developed his ideas and carried them into architecture and the applied arts.

How does it do on the art market?

Suprematism is regarded as one of the foundation stones of modern art, and collectors and museums alike still long for it. Original works by Malevich are few and most are in museum collections, which heightens their rarity and their significance on the market still further.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club