Aleksandr Rodchenko

A founding member of the Russian Constructivist movement, Aleksandr Mikhailovich Rodchenko (1891–1956) was an artist, photographer and graphic designer who played a central role in shaping early Soviet avant-garde art.

Born in 1891 in St Petersburg, Rodchenko began his career as a painter and graphic designer, heavily influenced by the abstract styles of Kazimir Malevich and Vladimir Tatlin. Taking inspiration from Cubism, Futurism and Suprematism, Alexander Rodchenko explored geometric abstraction, focusing on the use of simple shapes and a limited colour palette.

By the 1920s, Rodchenko had embraced Constructivism, a movement that emphasised functionality and the integration of art into everyday life. Becoming a founding member of the Constructivist Working Group in 1921, the artist sought to break away from traditional art forms and instead focused on industrial design, architecture and the visual arts as tools for social change in post-revolutionary Russia.

Having encountered the photomontage of the German Dadaists, Rodchenko turned to experimenting in this medium in the mid-1920s. In 1923, Rodchenko worked with found images, publishing his first photomontage illustrating Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poem ‘About This’, and by 1924 he began shooting his own photographs. Rodchenko framed the world in dynamic compositions and unconventional angles. His photographs and photomontages were published widely in avant-garde periodicals as well as state-run publications. By the 1930s, Rodchenko embraced photography as a tool for social commentary, portraying the disparity between ideal and lived Soviet experience.

While mainly focused on photography, Alexander Rodchenko continued to innovate in the field of graphic design, producing striking film posters, advertisements and book covers. His design work, like his art, was rooted in the Constructivist principle of blending art with practical design.

Alexander Rodchenko died in 1956 at the age of 64. The motivating force behind the Constructivist movement and doctrinations, Rodchenko's legacy is lasting and pivotal in the development of the Russian avant-garde.