About the artist

Aleksei Alekseevich Morgunov (Moscow,October 9th, 1884- Moscow, February 15th, 1935) in the early 1900s, studied at the Stroganov Art and Industry Institute in Moscow as well as at the studios of Sergei Ivanov and Konstantin Korovin. He was associated with Konstantin Kracht’s circle.

From 1904 to 1910 he exhibited at the “Moscow Association of Artists”, where he met Malevich and Kliun. During the years 1909-1910 he traveled around Europe (Germany, Austria, Italy, France) and became familiar with the work of Monet, Courbet, and Cézanne.

In 1910 he returned to Moscow, he joined the “Jack of Diamonds” group and participated in their exhibitions (1910, 1913, 1914). In addition, he participated in the Donkey’s Tail exhibition (Moscow, 1912), he exhibited together with the “World of Art” group (Moscow, St.Petersburg, 1911-1912) and participated in the exhibitions of the “Union of Youth” (St. Petersburg, 1911, 1912, 1913-1914).

During the years 1913-1914 he worked with Malevich to develop “alogism” a kind of pro-dadaistic trend in painting. His works were presented at the First Futurist Exhibition of Paintings: Tramway V (Petrograd, 1915) and at the exhibition The Store (Moscow, 1916).

From 1918 up to 1920 he taught painting at the Free State Art Studios (SVOMAS) in Moscow.

In 1918 he joined the newspaper Anarchy and he became a member of The Visual Arts Department of People’s Commissariat for Enlightenment (IZO NARKOMPROS), headed by Vladimir Tatlin.

In 1919 he became member of the so-called International Office and he exhibited at the Fifth State Exhibition: From Impressionism to Non-objective Art in Moscow. He entered the “Objective Analysis” group at the Institute of Artistic Culture (INKHUK) in Moscow, and from 1927 to 1930 he was a member of the Society of Moscow Artists. During the last years of his life his painting moved within the framework of Socialist Realism.