Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Kazimir Malevich
archive

New monument to mark Malevich’s grave

A competition to be held for a monument to mark lost resting place of the Russian avant-garde

Sophia Kishkovsky
1 January 2014
Share

The site of Kazimir Malevich’s grave is to be marked with a monument. The work selected to commemorate the Suprematist painter will be chosen through a competition, which was launched last month by the regional culture ministry in Moscow and is open until 24 February.

After Malevich (right) died in 1935, he was laid in a coffin created by fellow artist Nikolai Suetin. His body was then taken to Moscow, where it was cremated. The urn was buried in a field under his favourite tree and marked with a black square monument, also created by Suetin. This was destroyed during the Second World War.

There was an outcry among preservationists last summer after it was discovered that the site had ended up covered in concrete in the middle of an elite, new, residential gated community that had until recently been an empty field. The terms of the competition call for a memorial that “harmonises with the existing landscape and architectural space in the Romashkovo housing development”.

The housing complex’s developers defended themselves by saying that the urn containing Malevich’s ashes disappeared decades ago, and that the artist’s paintings had inspired the architecture of the new buildings.

Kazimir MalevichArchitectureBurialConservation & Preservation
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

Kazimir Malevicharchive
30 September 2001

Moscow property development threatens site of Malevich grave

Local authorities have not been sympathetic towards Malevich's estate where he was buried

John Varoli
Kazimir Malevicharchive
1 December 2011

Campaign to build Malevich centre by artist’s grave

An avant-garde enthusiast and an investment banker have joined forces to save the site from commercial development

Sophia Kishkovsky