Antoine Pevsner

Antoine Pevsner (30 January [O.S. 18 January] 1886 – 12 April 1962) was a Russian-born sculptor and the older brother of Alexii Pevsner and Naum Gabo. As the originators of Constructivism and pioneers of Kinetic Art, the brothers are considered pioneers of twentieth-century sculpture, with numerous prominent pieces, for instance Antoine's widely known sculpture, The Flight of the Bird, located at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.^[2]

Projection dynamique au 30e degré (lit. "Dynamic projection at the 30th degree"), 1953, at City University of Caracas^[1]

Biography

Pevsner was born as Natan Borisovich Pevzner^[3] in Oryol, Russian Empire,^[4] into a Jewish family. Among the originators of and having coined the term, Constructivism, and pioneers of Kinetic Art, Pevsner and his brother Naum Gabo discovered a new use for metals and welding and made a new marriage of art and mathematics. Pevsner said: "Art must be inspiration controlled by mathematics. I have a need for peace, symphony, orchestration."^[5] He was one of the first to use the blowtorch in sculpture, welding copper rods onto sculptural forms^[6] and along with his brother, Naum, he issued the Realist Manifesto in 1920.^[3][7]

He left the Soviet Union in 1923 and moved to Paris, where he would live for the rest of his life.^[3]

Among the honors he received were a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris (1956-7) and the Legion of Honour (1961).^[3]