3. Lyubov Popova  1889 – 1924

‘Spatial Force Construction’ 1920-21

A movement, central to the development of abstract art, took place in Russia just prior to the 1917 revolution. This was ‘constructivism’. This was at first three-dimensional objects, connected by industrial processes and envisaged to be relevant to the new society. But it later developed to include two-dimensional paintings and graphics. Initially, members of the group, including Aleksandr Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova, did not consider themselves as artists but as constructors.

Lyubov Popova embraced the constructivism movement developing it further with two-dimensional works using linear and geometric shapes. This owed much from engineering and technical drawing techniques and provided a transitional step towards abstraction. Popova was also influenced by the Cubists and the depiction of three-sdimensional objects onto a flat surface. She produced a body of works described as Cubo-Futurism and what she termed painterly architectonics.

Having trained as a technical illustrator, I can relate to these and the geometric works with their precise lines, shapes, perspective and materials used. The abstract paintings I do these days all have a preciseness and linear quality that I like to have control over – not so much expression by applying paint and seeing what occurs, but more of following a process through the formulation of an idea.