KREMEGNE Pavel (Pinchus)

1890 (Zheludak, Vilna province) — 1981 (Ceret, France)

Painter, sculptor

In 1909–1912 Kremegne studied at Vilna Art School, where he met Ch. Soutine and M. Kikoin. Pinchus Kremegne studied not only painting, but also sculpture.

In 1912 Kremegne moved to Paris, lived in the young artist’s residence La Ruche in Montparnasse. There he met A. Modigliani, M. Chagall, F. Leger. Later Kremegne became one of the respected inhabitants of La Ruche and invited Ch. Soutine to live in Paris.

In 1914 Kremegne exposed his sculptures at the Salon of Independents. In 1915 he left sculpture and was engaged only in painting: landscapes, portraits, still lifes and nudes in the expressionism style. However, the painter retained sculptural beginning in paintings: plastic and at the same time monumental forms.

In 1916–1917 Kremegne’s pictures were sold well. The famous art dealers L. Zborovsky, P. Guillaume, L. Zamaron bought his painting.

In 1919 the personal exhibition of Kremegne’s works was held in the gallery J. Povoltzky. Since 1921 Kremegne took part in the Autumn Salon, since 1924 — the Salon Tuileries, in group exhibitions and exhibitions of Russian art in Paris galleries (1920, 1922, 1923, 1931, 1932, and 1936). In 1928 Kremegne’s works were exposed at the Exhibition of modern French art in Moscow. The painter often exposed his works together with Ch. Soutine.

In 1920s Kremegne traveled a lot; he often visited Cagnes-sur-Mer, Sweden. In 1937 he lived in Burgundy, in 1938 — in Le Bourget.

During World War II, Kremegne was mobilized by the army for agricultural work. In 1945 he returned to his workshop in Paris. He participated in the exhibitions of the committee France–USSR (1945), exhibition In honor of Victory Day (1946).

Approximately in 1960 Kremegne moved to the Pyrenees in small town of Ceret. There he built a house. A lot of his friends-artists visited him; at home Kremegne organized exhibitions of avant-garde artists.

Personal exhibitions of Kremegne’s works were held in Paris (1946, 1951, 1955, 1960, 1969, 1974), in London (1954, 1960), in Philadelphia (1958), in Geneva (1969), in Cannes (1974). Kremegne exposed his works at the group exhibitions Russian artists of French school of painting in Saint-Denis (1960) and in Paris (1961), Montparnasse artists in London (1970), at the Autumn Salon (1972) and many others.