personality
UNOVIS was a short-lived but influential group of artists, founded and led by Kazimir Malevich at the Vitebsk Art School in 1919. Initially formed by students and known as MOLPOSNOVIS, the group formed to explore and develop new theories and concepts in art. Under the leadership of Malevich they renamed to UNOVIS , chiefly focusing on his ideas on Suprematism and producing a number of projects and publications whose influence on the avant-garde in Russia and abroad was immediate and far-reaching. The group has been disbanded in 1922.
The Black Square. Kazimir Malevich, 1915. Oil on linen, 79.5 x 79.5 cm, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
russian aVant-garde
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Embracing the Communist ideal, the group chose to share credit and responsibility for all works produced. They signed all works with a solitary black square, a homage to a previous artwork by Malevich. This would become the de facto seal of UNOVIS and took the place of individual names or initials.
The name UNOVIS is an abbreviation in Russian of “Utverditeli Novogo Iskusstva” or “The Champions of the New Art”, while POSNOVIS was an abbreviation of “Posledovateli Novovo Iskusstva” or “Followers of the New Art”, and MOLPOSNOVIS meant “Young Followers of the New Art.”
Foundation and growth In its short history, the group underwent many changes. First founded as MOLPOSNOVIS, the group’s membership started to include some of the school’s professors and quickly evolved into POSNOVIS. The group was very active, working on numerous projects and experiments, in most if not all media available at the time. Malevich was invited to teach at the school in 1919 by Marc Chagall and immediately appointed by the director of the school at the time, Vera Ermolaeva, to head a teaching studio. In February of the same year, under the leadership of Malevich, the group worked on