"Decorative and Industrial Art of the USSR", Catalogue – Moscow, 1925 – Cover design by Alexander Rodchenko

"Decorative and Industrial Art of the USSR", Catalogue – Moscow, 1925 – Cover design by Alexander Rodchenko

L'Art decoratif et industriel de L'U.R.S.S., catalogue of the Soviet pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, 1925. Moscow: Comite de la section de I'U.R.S.S. a L'exposition internationale des arts decoratifs, 1925. French.

This catalogue is the official catalogue of the Soviet pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925.

The catalogue includes articles in French by various Soviet authors, providing a comprehensive overview of the fields of decorative and industrial art in the Soviet Union, including crafts, textiles, graphics, theater, and more.

The volume is accompanied by illustrations, plates, and advertisements, some in color. The lithographic cover was designed by Alexander Rodchenko.

94, XXVIII pages (including the illustrated plates). 27 cm. Good condition. Minor stains and creases. Tiny tears at the edges of a few pages at the beginning of the volume. Minor tears at the edges of the spine.

MoMA 614.

Alexander Rodchenko (Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; 1891-1956), Russian artist, designer, sculptor, and photographer, member of the Constructivist movement. Rodchenko studied art in Kazan, Tatarstan, and Moscow. He began his career in Cubist and Futurist styles, later gravitating towards Suprematism and geometric abstraction, influenced by Kandinsky and Malevich. Rodchenko served as Vladimir Tatlin's assistant, was his student, and participated in a 1916 exhibition curated by Tatlin. Under his influence, in 1919 Rodchenko began creating three-dimensional works made from various materials (wood, metal, etc.), characterized by interlocking geometric shapes forming airy and dynamic compositions.

During the 1920s, he worked regularly with the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, illustrating and photographing his books, issues of the "Left Front of the Arts" (LEF; ЛЕФ) journal, as well as books and publications by other Russian Futurist and avant-garde creators, and regularly published his photographs in the press.

Rodchenko is considered one of the most versatile artists of the Russian avant-garde: he was among the leaders of the Productivist faction, which advocated strengthening the connection between art and industrial production, and between it and the working and consumer population, thus turning to furniture design and applied arts; later he was drawn to photography and photomontage and engaged in them extensively (considered one of the pioneers of the genre), designed posters, illustrated books, worked in graphics and typography, and created sets for theater and cinema.