Sonia Delaunay and Oleksandra Exter

Learn more about famous Ukrainian-born and Paris-based Sonia Delaunay, and Ukrainian reformer of European stagecraft Oleksandra Exter.

Sonia Delaunay (1885 –1979) (Sarah Stern) a Ukrainian-born and Paris-based artist, she received formal experience in Germany before relocating to France and expanding her career to include textiles, couture, and set design. She co-founded the Orphism art style, which was known for its use of vibrant colors and geometric patterns, with her husband Robert Delaunay and others.

In 1911, Sonia Delaunay created a colourful patchwork quilt for her son Charles’ crib. Now housed at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris,  the patchwork quilt was made in the spur of the moment utilizing geometry and color. She was the first living artist to have a retrospective show at the Louvre in 1964.

Oleksandra Exter (1882-1949) (Oleksandra Hryhorovych) is a Ukrainian artist, a reformer of European stagecraft, and a sophisticated intellectual. She was christened “the avant-garde Amazon” for being an active participant in European artistic life in the early 20th century. In her work, the artist moved gradually from one search to another: (neo)impressionism, cubism, cubofuturism, non-objectivity, constructivism, and art deco.

During her studies in Paris, Exter became a connoisseur of new art which she later brought home to Kyiv city. Her apartment and workshop became the true epicenter of contemporary art in the city, playing a key role in the history of the avant-garde movement in Ukraine.
Her influence affected European attitudes toward Ukrainian art; Oleksandra Exter made her Paris friends and students fall in love with Ukrainian folk art – a source for her studies of colour, rhythm, and composition.