Artwork
Study for "Three Dimensional Construction"
Study for "Three Dimensional Construction" is a drawing by Ivan Kliun. It dates from 1918 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus. The drawing functions as a preparatory sketch for a three‑dimensional construction.
About this work
Overview
The drawing functions as a preparatory sketch for a three‑dimensional construction. Simple linear elements and geometric shapes are arranged within a spacious field, emphasizing the underlying structure that the artist intended to translate into a volumetric object.
Subject & Meaning
The work reflects the creator’s investigation of how planar designs can be expanded into solid forms. By leaving large areas of blank paper, the sketch highlights the tension between emptiness and the potential mass of the forthcoming sculpture, suggesting a conceptual focus on space as a constituent of artistic expression.
Technique & Style
Executed with precise line work, the study employs a restrained hand, likely using cross‑hatching to suggest depth without shading. The composition’s clarity and minimalism align with the artist’s broader interest in suprematist principles, where basic geometric vocabularies serve as the basis for larger constructions.
History & Provenance
Created in the mid‑1920s, the piece marks a period when the artist shifted from non‑representational painting toward three‑dimensional practice. It served as a preliminary stage for the so‑called “planetary” forms that later evolved into the larger wooden and plaster structures the creator labeled “architectural.”
Context
During this era, the artist sought to articulate a new universal style that would integrate supremely abstract aesthetics across all artistic domains. The study illustrates the experimental phase preceding the realization of massive, architecturally inspired sculptures that embodied this ambition.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ivan Vasilievich Kliun, or Klyun, born Klyunkov (Russian: Иван Васильевич Клюн; 1 September 1873, in Bolshiye Gorky, Petushinsky District – 13 December 1943, in Moscow) was a Russian Avant-Garde painter, sculptor and…
Museum
Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus
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