Antoine Pevsner (12 April 1962) was a Russian-born sculptor and the older brother of Alexii Pevsner and

Naum Gabo Naum Gabo (born Naum Neemia Pevsner; Russian language, Russian: Наум Борисович Певзнер; Hebrew language, Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר) (23 August 1977) was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's ...

. As the originators of Constructivism and pioneers of

kinetic art Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or that depends on motion for its effects. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are ...

, the brothers are considered pioneers of twentieth-century sculpture. They made numerous prominent pieces, for instance Antoine's widely known sculpture ''The Flight of the Bird'', located at the

General Motors Technical Center The GM Technical Center was inaugurated in 1956 as General Motors's primary design and engineering center, located in Warren, Michigan. In 2000 the center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and fourteen years later it was d ...

in Warren, Michigan.

Biography

Pevsner was born as Natan Borisovich Pevzner in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

, Russian Empire, into a Jewish family. Among the originators of and having coined the term, Constructivism, and pioneers of

, Pevsner and his brother Naum Gabo discovered a new use for metals and welding and made a new marriage of art and mathematics. Pevsner said: ''"Art must be inspiration controlled by mathematics. I have a need for peace, symphony, orchestration."'' He was one of the first to use the

blowtorch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning tool used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually in metalworking, but occasionally for foods like crème brûlée. Description Early blowtorches ...

in sculpture, welding copper rods onto sculptural forms. Along with his brother, Naum, he issued the Realist Manifesto in 1920, which they hung on the city wall. This text preaches a complete departure from the reality beyond which the brothers sought to transcend. He left the Soviet Union in 1923 and moved to Paris, where he would live for the rest of his life. He began sculpting in 1923 and created assemblages in plastic, devising forms to give them colours through the interaction of components of the light spectrum. In 1931 he joined the Parisian art movement Abstraction-Creation and became a member, and from 1946 he was the organiser of the ''New Realities'' exhibition salons. Among the honors he received were a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris (1956-7) and the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1961).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pevsner, Antoine 1886 births 1962 deaths People from Klimavichy People from Klimovichskiy Uyezd Belarusian Jews Soviet sculptors Modern sculptors Jewish Russian sculptors Jewish French sculptors Russian avant-garde Constructivism (art) Soviet emigrants to the United States Burials at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Recipients of the Legion of Honour