BURLYUK David Davidovich

July 9, 1882 (Semirotovschina, Kharkov province) — January 15, 1967 (Long Island, New York)

Painter, graphic artist, poet, art critic

David Burlyuk came from a peasant family; his father David Fedorovich Burlyuk managed an estate in the south of Russia. David Burlyuk was a brother of the poet Nikolai Burlyuk and the painter Vladimir Burlyuk. His first art education was under the guidance of his mother artist amateur Ludmila Osipovna Mikhnevich.

In 1898–1902 (with interruptions) Burlyuk studied at Kazan art school under K.-G. L. Myufke and G. P. Medvedev, in 1899–1900 — at Odessa art institute under K. K. Kostandi, G. A. Ladyzhensky, and A. A. Popov.

After his fruitless attempt to enter the Imperial Academy of Arts (IAKh), Burlyuk decided to move to Munich. In 1902–1903 he studied at the Royal Academy of Arts under W. Diez; in 1904 he moved to Paris, where he continued education at the School of F. Cormon.

In 1910 he studied at Odessa Art Institute again in order to get the diploma. In 1911 he entered Moscow School of painting, sculpture and architecture (MUZhVZ). He studied at life class under L. O. Pasternak and A. E. Arkhipov. In 1914 Burlyuk was expelled from the School together with V. V. Mayakovsky for propaganda of avant-garde art during the tour through 30 towns of Russia.

Burlyuk was one of the organizers and participants of exhibitions Stefanos (1907–1908), Zveno (“Link”, 1908), Venok-Stefanos (1909), Salon of V. A. Izdebsky (1909–1911), exhibition of the Union of Youth (1910–1911), Bubnovy Valet (“Jack of diamonds”, 1910–1911). He was a member of the Union of Russian Artists (1906–1907), the Society of South Russian Artists (1906–1907), association Treugolnik (“Triangle”, 1910). He exposed his works at exhibitions Zolotoye Runo (“Golden Fleece”, 1909), Moscow Salon (1913), Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”, 1911–1912, Munich) and Der Sturm (“Storm”, 1913, Berlin). Burlyuk participated in many futuristic editions — Sadok Sudey (“A Trap for Judges”, 1910, 1913), Trebnik Troikh (“The Breviary of Three”), Dokhlaya Luna (“The Croaked Moon”, two — 1913), Rykayushchiy Parnas (“Roaring Parnassus”), Moloko kobylits (“Milk of Mares”, two — 1914) and others. In December 1912 Burlyuk together with Mayakovsky and A. E. Kruchenykh published manifest Slap in the face of public taste. Burlyuk was one of the founders of cubist-futuristic group Gileya (“Hylaea”).

In 1915 Burlyuk together with family moved to Ural. In 1917 he returned to Moscow and gave reports in Café of poets. In 1918–1920 Burlyuk visited Ural, Siberia, the Far East and delivered lectures about modern art. He published books of poems Lyseyushchij khvost (“Bald tail”) and Siberia.

In 1920 Burlyuk left the Far East Republic for Japan, in 1922 he moved to USA and lived in New York.

Till 1930s Burlyuk’s works were exposed at exhibitions in the Soviet Union and exhibitions of soviet art abroad, particularly at the First Russian art exhibition in the Gallery van Diemen in Berlin (1922), at the exhibition of modernism in Leningrad (1927), exhibition of the group 13 in Moscow (1931), exhibition of modern Russian art in Philadelphia (1932) and others. Burlyuk participated in international exhibitions in Brooklyn Museum (1923, 1927), art centers in Philadelphia (1926), Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington. In 1940s–1960s Burlyuk cooperated with ACA Art Gallery in New York.

David Burlyuk was engaged also in literature and public activities. In 1920s–1930s he delivered lectures about USSR in working clubs of USA. Burlyuk published articles, feuilletons and reviews of soviet newspapers in American and soviet editions Russian Voice, New World. Burlyuk was a member of the literature group Hammer and Sickle and The John Reed Club. He published several books of poetry and theoretical work Entelechy, in which he declared himself father of proletarian culture and the first Bolshevik in literature. In 1930s–1960s Burlyuk together with his wife published the magazine The Color and Rhyme.

David Burlyuk was one of the leaders of Russian art avant-garde of the end of 1900s — 1910s. His role in art and culture of that time was important. He organized a lot of exhibitions and public debates. He was an author of many polemic articles, pamphlets, leaflets, manifests. That is why V. V. Kamensky called him the father of Russian futurism.

In his early period of creative work, Burlyuk painted in impressionistic style. In 1910s his painting and graphic works became relative and expressly disharmonious. Abroad he painted portraits, still lifes, landscapes in his own manner, which was close to primitivism; fantastic paintings in grotesque manner — it is characteristic blottesque and smooth pictorial surface. In 1960s Burlyuk began to paint in realistic manner, created a lot of landscaped and portraits.

Works by David Burlyuk are in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum in New York, Brooklyn Museum, Boston Museum and others.