Description:

VLADIMIR NEMUKHIN (RUSSIAN 1925-2016)
Cubo-Futurist Sculpture, 1997
wood
height: 45 cm (17 3/4 in)

signed to underside

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner
Private Collection, New Jersey

LOT NOTES

A central figure of the Russian Nonconformist movement and a founding member of the influential Lianozovo Group. Nemukhin is perhaps best known for his paintings of playing cards and "card tables," the early 1990s marked a significant "watershed" moment where he increasingly pivoted toward three-dimensional sculpture. By 1999, his sculptural output had matured into a sophisticated dialogue with the legacy of the Russian Avant-Garde, specifically referencing the geometric rigor of Constructivism and the spatial theories of the early 20th century.

For this sculpture dated 1999, the work likely belongs to Nemukhin’s celebrated series of sculptural homages. During this period, particularly following his move to Düsseldorf, Germany, Nemukhin dedicated a vast portion of his sculptural work to fellow artists such as Cézanne, Vladimir Veisberg, and Dmitry Krasnopevtsev. These wooden forms are characterized by a "constructive, conceptual assembly" where biomorphic or geometric shapes are fractured and reorganized, a technique he referred to as "Russian cubo-futurism". In these works, the natural texture and grain of the wood are often intentionally preserved or lightly tinted to emphasize the raw, material reality of the object.

Asculpture such as this, from this late-1990s period often mirrors the counter-relief structures found in his mixed-media paintings. Nemukhin used wood as a tactile medium to explore the pure plasticity of form, moving away from the expressive brutality of his earlier years toward a more refined and analytical investigation of surface and volume. Because these pieces were often produced in limited artist variants or small subscription editions, a work from 1999 carries significant weight,representing the culmination of his life's work—a moment where the clandestine experimentation of the Soviet underground had finally achieved a monumental, internationally recognized clarity.

Keywords: Russian Art Lianozovo Group, Soviet Nonconformist Art, Bulldozer Exhibition

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March 28, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
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