Alexander Archipenko

So, I was just reading a quick introduction to Alexander Archipenko. He is best know for cubist sculptures in bronze, terra cotta, mother of pearl, and plastic. He was one of the first to introduce negative space into sculpture. He had trouble staying in Art schools (Kiev and Paris) and ended up learning about sculpture through self-study at the Louvre. In Paris, he lived in Colony La Ruche with other Russian immigrants.

When I look at his abstract sculptures, I see beautiful, graceful forms. He captures the perfect posture into which each subject would ideally pose. If I imagine a gondolier standing and rowing a gondola, this is the stance he would take. But Archipenko demonstrates this quintessential posture with the most simplistic forms. I think the same goes for his female form. The curve of the inward angle of her waist is right, and her reaching over to comb her hair produces a slight slant in her posture (also the need to have one leg forward order to stay balanced) is just right as well. Yet, again, this is all done with the most beautifully simplistic forms. Wikipedia mentions his ability to show different viewpoints from one view. I guess that's very cubist practice that you see in a lot of Picasso's famous paintings. He worked and showed with Cubist artists like Georges Braques and Picasso.