Alexandra Exter was a pioneering modernist painter and designer whose dynamic work bridged the avant-garde movements of Cubism, Futurism, and Constructivism. Born in Białystok (then part of the Russian Empire, now Poland), she spent much of her artistic life in Kyiv, Moscow, Paris, and other European art capitals, becoming a key figure in the early 20th-century European avant-garde.
Exter studied at the Kyiv Art School and later in Paris, where she moved in the circles of Picasso, Braque, and the Cubists. She quickly developed a unique visual language that combined the fragmented geometries of Cubism with the energy of Futurism, incorporating bold color, movement, and abstraction.
She was deeply involved in stage design, book illustration, fashion, and decorative arts, working across disciplines with a radical spirit. Her set and costume designs for theater, especially for the Moscow Kamerny Theatre, are considered groundbreaking examples of Constructivist scenography.
A teacher as well as a creator, Exter taught at the Bauhaus-influenced Académie d’Art Moderne in Paris and left a significant impact on the development of modern design and visual culture. Her legacy endures as a fearless innovator — a woman who redefined the possibilities of abstraction and interdisciplinary art.
