the auction house Sotheby's put up for auction "the Impressionists and the art of the twentieth century", which will take place on 24th June 2015 in London, "Suprematist composition No. 18" Kazimir Malevich. The work involved in the artist's retrospective at the Tate gallery, will be exhibited at a public auction for the first time since its establishment in 1915. Lot is estimated at £20-30 million ($30-45 million). The painting will be on display at the exhibition in Hong Kong (may 28-31) and in London June 19-24 2015.

Co-chair of the Department of "the Impressionists and the Art of the twentieth century," auction house Sotheby's Helena Newman: "Malevich's Paintings from the series "Suprematism", among which a special place is occupied by the "Suprematist composition No. 18", are among the most outstanding works of the artist. The majestic purity of their lines is reflected in the visual style of contemporary art, architecture and design. Over the past 25 years, only three works of Malevich been sold at auction, the last of them went for a record $60 million on new-йоркском Sotheby's auction in 2008. “Suprematist composition No. 18” has no less reliable provenance — comes from the collection of the artist's heirs. Recognition of the work of Malevich today is truly global in nature, and given the exceptional rarity of his early works in the style of Suprematism, preserved in private collections, the upcoming auction gives a rare opportunity to become the owner of one of the outstanding works of the famous masters".

"Suprematist composition No. 18" participated in the first exhibition of Suprematist painting in November 1915 at the Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Moscow that preceded the famous exhibition of artists-футуристов in Saint-Петербурге (at that time in Petrograd) in 1915-1916, which opened the world of Malevich and Popova and Tatlin as the most influential artists of period@

In 1927 Malevich personally participated in the show "Suprematist composition No. 18" at the exhibition in Berlin where the Western public for the first time got the opportunity to meet with the aesthetics of his works. In June 1927 Malevich had to return to the Soviet Union, but his paintings remained in storage in Berlin. The artist was denied in subsequent trips to the West. He died in 1935 in the USSR. Later the painting "Suprematist composition No. 18" was deposited with the German architect Hugo Häring, who supposedly sold it to the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum. Eventually, after 17-летней litigation between the city Council of Amsterdam and relatives of Malevich, the painting returned to the rightful heirs. The last time the painting was exhibited in 2014 in the framework of the retrospective exhibition at Tate Modern, had won numerous responses in a press, after which representatives of the Fondation Beyeler asked to provide a painting "Suprematist composition No. 18" to participate in the upcoming renovation of the landmark exhibition in St. Petersburg "0,10".

Malevich and the evolution of Suprematism

the Art of Malevich presented the world a new, succinct visual language of abstract forms and vibrant colors equally innovative-революционный as cubism and futurism on the basis of which it arose. Suprematism was born from the desire of Malevich to break the limits of traditional forms of artistic images in the world of pure color and geometric shapes to create something new, built on the negation of what-либо particular framework or theme. "Color and texture painting — here are the authentic expression of its essence", — Malevich wrote in his treatise in 1916.

Birth of Suprematism was preceded by the experience of Malevich, at the time a budding artist, the nascent movement of Russian avant-garde. In 1907 he received an invitation to participate in the exhibition of Association of artists of Moscow together with the famous Wassily Kandinsky, Mikhail Larionov. About 1914 Malevich becomes the leader of the Russian futurists, at the same time originated and its bold new experiments in painting. By the summer of 1915 he completely abandons figuration in favor of clear geometric shapes and vibrant colors on a white background and writes songs, amazing laconism@

In 1915 Malevich writes the treatise "the Manifesto of Suprematism" (published in 1916 in Moscow), which sets out the meaning of his creative philosophy. Unlike Soutine, Chagall, fleeing their homeland in search of creative inspiration to those who are in France, Malevich remained in Russia all the turbulent post-revolutionary godi@

Kazimir Malevich was born in the Ukraine in 1878. In 1905 he entered the Moscow school of painting, sculpture and architecture, and lived in Moscow until 1910. In his early works of the period 1910-1913 clearly influenced the artists of the French avant-garde, in particular variations in the style of cubism, so popular thanks to the works of Picasso and Braque. However, as the development of their own creative identity Malevich begins on-своему to interpret the style of cubism and creates his creative philosophy. The idea of Suprematism built on a complete rejection of objective coverage of the subject and what-либо connection with prirody@

World fame only after Malevich landmark of Berlin exhibition Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung (1927), where his painting "Suprematist composition No. 18" was exhibited along with another 70 rabotai@

Источник: press-релиз Sotheby's