What is Suprematism art? It’s an abstract art movement founded by Kazimir Malevich in the early 20th century, characterized by its use of simple geometric shapes like squares and circles, often arranged in a non-representational manner.
Suprematism focuses on the idea of pure abstraction, rejecting any connection to the physical world or objects. Instead, it emphasizes the supremacy of feeling over visual representation.
In this article, you’ll learn how Suprematism developed within the broader context of the Russian avant-garde, what key artists like El Lissitzky contributed, and why works like Black Square and White on White are still relevant today.
We’ll also explore the movement’s lasting impact on geometric abstraction and modernist painting. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how Suprematism paved the way for later movements like Minimalism and transformed the approach to art.
What Is Suprematism Art
Suprematism is an art movement founded by Kazimir Malevich in the early 20th century, characterized by pure abstraction and the use of geometric forms like squares and circles.
It emphasizes the supremacy of feeling over representational forms, seeking to convey emotion through simplicity and color rather than physical objects.
Key Characteristics of Suprematism
Geometric Abstraction
Suprematism relies heavily on geometric shapes. Circles, squares, and triangles—simple forms stripped of representational meaning—are at the core of this movement. These forms aren’t tied to any physical object. They’re about creating a sense of pure abstraction. For example, Kazimir Malevich’s famous Black Square is a prime example of geometric abstraction, representing nothing but itself.
Non-Objective Art
Suprematism rejects any attachment to the physical world. This is non-objective art at its finest. Unlike Cubism or Constructivism, Suprematism doesn’t aim to depict any real-world objects or figures. The goal is to express pure feeling and the “supremacy of pure artistic feeling,” as Malevich described it. You won’t find symbolism here—no hidden meanings tied to everyday objects.
Minimalism and Simplicity
Simplicity is central to Suprematism. The movement strips art down to its most basic elements, avoiding unnecessary detail.
The color palette is minimal, often using just black, white, red, and other primary colors. The stark contrast of shapes and colors creates a strong, bold visual effect. There’s nothing complex here. It’s about focusing on the essentials.
Flatness and Two-Dimensionality
Suprematist compositions often reject depth and three-dimensional illusion. The goal is not to create a window into another world, but to emphasize the flatness of the canvas itself. Malevich’s White on White painting is a strong example of this, with a white square floating on a white background, emphasizing the two-dimensionality of the medium.
Spiritual and Philosophical Underpinnings
There’s a spiritual dimension to Suprematism. Malevich believed that abstract art could communicate deeper truths, detached from the material world.
It’s not just about visual appeal; it’s about connecting to a higher sense of existence. This is where Suprematism intersects with broader movements like Bauhaus, which also valued simplicity and abstraction.
Lack of Narrative
Suprematist art doesn’t tell a story. There’s no narrative, no sequence of events. It’s just shapes, colors, and forms. The idea is to remove all distractions, letting viewers focus entirely on the experience of pure form. This differs from movements like Constructivism, which often had political or social undertones.
Focus on the “Zero Point” of Painting
Suprematism was seen by Malevich as the “zero point” of painting—a radical break from the past. It represented a clean slate, rejecting centuries of representational art. It wasn’t about refining older styles; it was about starting fresh, with no reference to the outside world. This “zero point” was crucial in defining Suprematism’s approach to art.
Revolutionary and Radical Nature
The birth of Suprematism in Russia during a time of political upheaval gave it a radical edge. It was revolutionary in its rejection of artistic traditions. Though it wasn’t directly political like Constructivism, it still carried a sense of rebellion against the old order, pushing the boundaries of what art could be.
Kazimir Malevich: The Visionary Behind Suprematism
Kazimir Malevich pushed art beyond what was considered its limits. His work rejected traditional forms, aiming for a non-objective expression that abandoned the need to represent the physical world.
With Suprematism, Malevich explored the possibilities of pure abstraction, leaving behind realism, symbolism, and any attachment to tangible objects.
Born in 1879, Malevich’s early exposure to Cubism and Futurism shaped his understanding of breaking down form, but he took things further. By 1913, Malevich was experimenting with radical ideas.
His belief that art should focus on basic geometric shapes like squares, circles, and rectangles culminated in what he called the “supremacy of pure feeling,” a phrase that would define Suprematism. This shift was revolutionary.
His iconic work, Black Square, isn’t just a painting. It’s a declaration. It marked what Malevich described as the “zero point of painting,” wiping the slate clean. A simple black square on a white background, it avoided any reference to objects, focusing entirely on its own existence as a form.
Malevich wasn’t alone. The Russian avant-garde movement was teeming with innovation, but he stood out. He saw Suprematism not just as an art style but as a philosophical stance.
It was an answer to what is Suprematism art, grounded in the belief that art could break free from any representation of reality. His work inspired others, such as El Lissitzky, who embraced these radical ideas, pushing them into new directions.
During the Russian Revolution, Malevich’s art became even more poignant. Though Constructivism emerged as a more politically charged response to the changing society, Malevich maintained a different path.
His work wasn’t tied to the social or political landscape in the same way. It was about something beyond the material world—an idea that art could exist on its own, independent of anything outside itself.
The legacy of Malevich and Suprematism had a direct influence on later movements like Minimalism and even the Bauhaus school. The simplicity of form and the rejection of decoration that he championed became a blueprint for future generations.
Development of the Suprematist Movement
Suprematism emerged in the mid-1910s, driven by Kazimir Malevich’s desire to strip art of its ties to the physical world.
It all began with his 1915 Suprematist Composition paintings, where shapes like squares and circles floated on the canvas, entirely disconnected from any representational meaning.
Malevich officially introduced Suprematism at The Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0.10 in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in 1915. This was where he first exhibited the now iconic Black Square, a pivotal moment that redefined abstract art.
The painting’s radical simplicity—a black square on a white field—marked the movement’s formal declaration, signifying a complete break from the past.
Around the same time, the movement started gaining traction among other Russian artists. El Lissitzky, one of Malevich’s followers, took these ideas and adapted them into his own work, pushing the movement forward. He incorporated geometric abstraction into his designs, which influenced not only fine art but also graphic design and architecture.
By the late 1910s, Suprematism had evolved, moving into what Malevich called “the zero point of painting.” He believed the movement had gone as far as it could go in reducing art to its most fundamental forms.
His White on White painting, showing a barely visible white square against a white background, was the culmination of this philosophy. It was the ultimate expression of non-objective art—a work that abandoned even color in its pursuit of artistic purity.
Despite its radical nature, Suprematism wasn’t immune to the cultural shifts around it. The Russian Revolution altered the art scene dramatically, and though Constructivism quickly became the dominant movement, Suprematism left a lasting mark.
Unlike Constructivism’s more practical, utilitarian approach, Suprematism remained focused on art for art’s sake. It wasn’t about politics or society, but rather the possibilities of pure artistic expression.
The movement influenced future artists and movements across Europe. The principles of Suprematism, especially its focus on geometric forms and abstraction, carried through into Bauhaus and later movements like Minimalism.
Malevich’s ideas also helped pave the way for modern graphic design, as artists like Lissitzky applied Suprematist composition techniques to typography and layout design.
Key Artists in the Suprematist Movement
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich is the originator of Suprematism. His work set the foundation for everything the movement stood for—pure abstraction, geometric forms, and a rejection of any representational subject matter.
His 1915 painting Black Square became a visual and philosophical cornerstone, marking a break from tradition. Malevich didn’t stop with Black Square. His White on White further pushed the boundaries by reducing art to the barest elements of shape and color—or, in this case, the absence of color. He believed in the “zero point of painting,” where all previous concepts of art were erased.
El Lissitzky
Malevich’s influence extended to his student El Lissitzky, who took Suprematism and applied its principles across disciplines like graphic design, architecture, and typography.
Lissitzky’s work, such as Proun (Project for the Affirmation of the New), explored geometric abstraction in a more spatial context, blending architecture with painting. His designs had a major impact on the development of Constructivism and even modern graphic design. The clarity and simplicity in his work resonated with the principles of Suprematism but took on a more functional role.
Olga Rozanova
Olga Rozanova was another key figure in the Suprematist movement. Her work distinguished itself through the use of bright, monochromatic color fields combined with geometric shapes.
While Malevich often worked in stark contrasts, Rozanova was known for her bold use of color. Her piece Green Stripe reflects her experimental approach to color and form, positioning her as a critical voice within the movement.
Ivan Klyun
Ivan Klyun, though not as widely known as Malevich or Lissitzky, contributed significantly to the Suprematist movement with his own take on non-objective art.
Klyun’s work explored geometric forms but also incorporated more color and texture than Malevich’s stricter compositions. His work helped bridge the gap between Suprematism and other movements within the Russian avant-garde, offering a more fluid interpretation of Suprematist principles.
Lyubov Popova
Lyubov Popova, another important artist in the Russian avant-garde, was closely associated with both Suprematism and Constructivism.
Her abstract works experimented with geometry and movement, often layering shapes in dynamic compositions. While she eventually gravitated toward Constructivism, her earlier works contributed to the broader development of Suprematist ideas, especially in terms of how geometric abstraction could be applied to different mediums.
Suprematism in the Context of Russian Avant-Garde Art
Suprematism emerged at a critical time during the early 20th century, right in the middle of a thriving Russian avant-garde scene.
Artists were already breaking away from traditional forms, pushing the limits of geometric abstraction, and exploring non-objective art. This was a time of revolution, both politically and artistically, and Suprematism fit into that larger narrative by rejecting realism and focusing solely on pure abstraction.
While Constructivism became a dominant force in the Russian avant-garde, with its focus on practicality and the construction of a new society through art, Suprematism took a more philosophical approach.
It wasn’t about functionality. It was about reducing art to its simplest elements, a kind of spiritual quest for the “zero point” where art no longer represented objects or the physical world.
What sets Suprematism apart from other movements in the avant-garde, like Cubism or Futurism, is its total abandonment of narrative and representation. Movements like Cubism still held onto fragments of the real world, deconstructing them, but still tied to them.
Suprematism, particularly in Kazimir Malevich’s work, such as his Black Square, was a complete break. It was about creating something entirely new, an art form without any relation to physical reality.
Despite this radical departure, Suprematism was not isolated. It shared the stage with Constructivist thinkers like El Lissitzky, who began as a follower of Suprematism before transitioning toward the more socially driven goals of Constructivism.
In fact, many Russian avant-garde artists moved fluidly between movements, but Suprematism’s focus remained unique—centered on the supremacy of pure feeling over any utilitarian or narrative concerns.
This distinction is crucial in understanding what is Suprematism art. It didn’t evolve out of a desire to reflect the world but to explore a world beyond it.
By simplifying shapes to their core—squares, circles, and lines—and stripping away all excess, Suprematism set the stage for later movements like Minimalism and had a lasting impact on the trajectory of modernist painting.
In the larger framework of Russian avant-garde, Suprematism was the most abstract and the least concerned with politics or social change.
While other movements adapted their visual languages to fit the needs of the new Soviet state, Suprematism stood apart, driven by the belief that art existed beyond the material and political world.
Decline and Legacy of Suprematism
Notable Suprematist Works and Analysis
By the early 1920s, the momentum behind Suprematism began to slow. The Russian art scene shifted toward more practical movements like Constructivism, which aligned with the new Soviet regime’s focus on rebuilding society.
Kazimir Malevich, the central figure of Suprematism, found his work increasingly sidelined. Non-objective art, with its detachment from reality and lack of political messaging, didn’t fit into the Soviet Union’s vision for art that served the state.
Malevich’s later works showed a departure from the strict geometric forms of early Suprematism.
Though he never fully abandoned his principles, his later paintings incorporated more figurative elements, perhaps a reflection of the shifting cultural landscape.
The rise of Socialist Realism—an art form that celebrated the working class and the Soviet state—pushed abstract movements like Suprematism to the margins.
Yet, Suprematism’s legacy persisted. The ideas behind it—especially the focus on geometric abstraction and minimalism—echoed through later art movements.
Minimalism in particular took up where Suprematism left off, applying its principles to new contexts, not just in painting but in architecture, design, and even interior spaces.
The influence of El Lissitzky spread across Europe, especially through his connections with the Bauhaus. His interpretation of Suprematism laid the groundwork for modernist graphic design and architecture.
Suprematism’s impact isn’t limited to just art. The movement influenced the development of abstract art and shaped modernist approaches across various disciplines.
Even though it lost favor in the political climate of the 1920s, its ideas on reducing form to its most essential elements continued to resonate, influencing everything from abstract expressionism to the color field painters of the mid-20th century.
The question what is Suprematism art remains crucial to understanding the movement’s decline and ongoing relevance.
It’s not about politics or social change—it’s about art’s purest form. That’s why, despite its fall from prominence, its essence remains embedded in the history of modern art, serving as a foundation for movements that came later.
Black Square (1915) by Kazimir Malevich
The Black Square is probably the most iconic work associated with Suprematism. It’s a simple black square painted on a white canvas, but its meaning extends far beyond the surface. Kazimir Malevich called it the “zero point of painting.” It’s a radical break from representation—there are no objects, no figures, no narrative.
It’s just form and color. The black square, positioned in the upper corner like an icon in a Russian home, holds a sense of spiritual significance. It’s non-objective, yet deeply emotional in its starkness.
This piece isn’t about the black square itself. It’s about what the absence of representation signifies—freedom from the material world.
Malevich saw it as the purest expression of Suprematism, where geometric abstraction takes precedence over everything else. The contrast of black and white emphasizes the rejection of depth and illusion, leaving only the essential.
White on White (1918) by Kazimir Malevich
White on White is another significant work by Malevich that pushes Suprematism to its limits. A white square on a slightly different white background—there’s almost nothing to grasp onto visually, but that’s the point.
It represents the culmination of Malevich’s journey toward total abstraction, removing even color from the equation.
The geometric form remains, but now the distinction between figure and ground is minimal, almost non-existent. This painting is about art itself, its boundaries, and its possibilities.
It challenges the viewer to consider what happens when everything is stripped away, yet the canvas still holds meaning through its subtle variations in tone and texture.
Proun Room (1923) by El Lissitzky
The Proun Room, designed by El Lissitzky, takes Suprematist principles and applies them to three-dimensional space. Unlike Malevich, who focused solely on the canvas, Lissitzky brought geometric abstraction into the real world.
His Proun series was a fusion of painting and architecture, exploring how abstract shapes could define space and volume.
In the Proun Room, he used intersecting planes and shapes—circles, rectangles, and lines—to create a dynamic environment. It’s an evolution of Suprematism, where the flat geometric forms of the canvas extend into space.
This work connects directly to his involvement with the Russian avant-garde and later movements like Constructivism. Lissitzky’s vision paved the way for modern design, showing how Suprematist composition could transcend painting and become part of architecture and design.
Red Square (1915) by Kazimir Malevich
In contrast to the Black Square, Malevich’s Red Square shifts the tone of Suprematism. The red square floats on a white background, but it brings a different energy. Red is a more dynamic color, and the positioning suggests movement or action, contrasting with the stasis of the Black Square.
Malevich referred to it as “Painterly Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions,” blending the abstract with the real in title alone. In the painting, though, the emphasis remains on abstraction, without any reference to recognizable figures or objects.
This work shows how color in Suprematism wasn’t just a visual element—it carried emotional weight. Red represents energy, life, and tension within the geometric abstraction.
It’s another demonstration of how Malevich used simple forms to express complex ideas, even as he adhered to the non-objective art principles of the movement.
FAQ on What Is Suprematism Art
What is Suprematism art?
Suprematism is an art movement founded by Kazimir Malevich in the early 20th century. It focuses on pure abstraction and emphasizes the supremacy of feeling over representational forms. Characterized by simple geometric shapes, such as squares and circles, it aims to free art from the constraints of the physical world.
Who started the Suprematism movement?
Kazimir Malevich is the primary figure behind the Suprematism movement. He introduced it in 1915 with works like Black Square, which became a hallmark of this approach to art.
Malevich’s ideas focused on reducing forms to their essence, moving away from traditional representations toward a purely abstract expression.
What are the key characteristics of Suprematism?
Suprematism is defined by its use of geometric forms and an emphasis on color and composition over narrative.
The movement prioritizes simplicity and abstraction, often utilizing stark contrasts between colors. The aim is to evoke emotion and convey a sense of purity, transcending the physical world entirely.
How did Suprematism influence modern art?
Suprematism laid the groundwork for various modern art movements, including Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism.
Its focus on geometric abstraction influenced countless artists, pushing them to explore new forms and ideas. The principles of Suprematism continue to resonate in contemporary art practices, shaping how artists approach abstraction.
What are some notable Suprematist works?
Key works include Black Square and White on White by Malevich, which showcase the movement’s core principles of non-objective art.
Other significant pieces are Proun Room by El Lissitzky, highlighting the application of Suprematist ideas in architecture and design, blending art with functional space.
How did Suprematism relate to the Russian avant-garde?
Suprematism emerged as part of the Russian avant-garde, a broader movement that sought to redefine art in the wake of political and social change.
It distinguished itself by emphasizing abstraction and emotional expression, separate from the more utilitarian and politically charged art of Constructivism within the same period.
What was the significance of the Black Square?
Black Square represents the essence of Suprematism. It symbolizes a radical departure from traditional art, embodying the idea of the “zero point of painting.”
This work challenges viewers to engage with pure form and color, highlighting the movement’s core belief in non-objective art and emotional expression.
Did Suprematism have a political agenda?
Suprematism itself did not carry a direct political agenda. Unlike Constructivism, which aimed to serve the Soviet state and promote socialist ideals, Suprematism focused purely on artistic expression.
Malevich’s work sought to transcend the material world rather than engage with specific political messages or movements.
How did Suprematism evolve over time?
While Suprematism peaked in the 1910s, its ideas continued to influence artists throughout the 20th century.
Malevich’s later works began to incorporate more figurative elements, reflecting the changing artistic landscape. Despite its decline, Suprematism’s principles remain relevant, impacting contemporary abstraction and modernist thought.
Is Suprematism still relevant today?
Suprematism remains relevant in today’s art world. Its emphasis on abstraction and emotional expression can be seen in various contemporary practices.
The movement has influenced numerous artists, contributing to ongoing discussions about the role of art in society and the exploration of pure form and color in creative expression.
Conclusion
Suprematism, defined by its focus on pure abstraction, answers the question, what is Suprematism art? This movement, pioneered by Kazimir Malevich, emphasizes the supremacy of feeling through geometric forms, such as squares and circles.
It rejects traditional representation and aims to convey emotion and spiritual experience.
The legacy of Suprematism is profound. Its influence can be seen in modern art movements like Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism.
Artists continue to explore the principles of geometric abstraction and emotional expression established by Malevich and his contemporaries.
Key works such as Black Square and White on White remain critical to understanding this artistic approach.
Suprematism reshaped perceptions of art, shifting the focus from representation to the intrinsic value of form and color. The movement’s impact continues to resonate, inviting new generations to engage with the essence of art.
