Famous Russian Sculptors

Remembered as one of the founders of the avant-garde movement named Russian constructivism, Alexander Rodchenko has experimented with photography, paintings, posters, photomontage, and sculpture. Most of his works have political overtones. He was a prominent member of the October Group and was geared toward making art for the working classes.

Russian surrealist painter Vladimir Kush now owns his own gallery in Hawaii. Initially a street artist, he now sells his own art prints and calls himself a Metaphorical Realist. He once sued pop star Ariana Grande for using his imagery in her video God Is a Woman.

Angelina Beloff was a Russian-born artist best remembered for her work in Mexico. She also contributed as an art teacher in Mexico. Beloff is also known as the first wife of Mexican painter Diego Rivera; her professional achievements were largely overshadowed by her marriage and subsequent divorce. Her life and career inspired a novel by Elena Poniatowska.

Zurab Tsereteli is a Georgian painter, architect, and sculptor best known for his large-scale and controversial monuments. An influential figure, Tsereteli has been serving as the Russian Academy of Arts' President since 1997. Zurab Tsereteli is the recipient of several prestigious awards and honors, such as the USSR State Prize, Lenin Prize, and Russian Federation State Prize. 

Naum Gabo was a Russian sculptor and theorist who played an important role in the development of 20th-century sculpture in Russia. An influential figure, Gabo was a prominent part of many popular avant-garde movements like Cubism, Futurism, the Staatliches Bauhaus, Constructivism, Neoplasticism, and the Abstraction-Création group. Naum Gabo traveled extensively and worked in places like the UK and Netherlands.

Marie Bashkirtseff was a Ukrainian artist who worked and lived in Paris. Bashkirtseff emerged as an intellectual in Paris and produced works like The Meeting and In the Studio before succumbing to tuberculosis in 1884 at age 25. Although many of her works were destroyed by the Nazis, over 60 of her paintings are preserved in places like Musée d'Orsay. 

Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov was a Soviet anthropologist and archaeologist. He is credited with developing the first technique of forensic sculpture and discovering the Mal'ta–Buret' culture. Gerasimov is also credited with reconstructing the faces of over 200 people, ranging from neanderthals to homo sapiens.

Considered the most popular female Soviet sculptor, Vera Mukhina earned the nickname of the queen of Soviet sculpture. After a plastic surgery following a sledging accident as a young girl, she focused on studying sculpting. The five-time Stalin Prize winner is remembered for her works such as Peasant Woman.

Oleg Prokofiev was a Russian artist, poet, and sculptor. Prokofiev traveled extensively and exhibited his work worldwide, including places like the UK, France, Russia, and the USA. Today, his artworks can be found in places like The State Tretyakov Gallery, The Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Leeds City Art Gallery, and the Zimmerli Art Museum.

Yevgeny Vuchetich was a Soviet artist and sculptor best remembered for his heroic monuments, such as The Motherland Calls, which was the world's largest sculpture at the time. An influential artist, Vuchetich was an important exponent of the Socialist Realism style. Over the course of his career, he was honored with prestigious awards like the Lenin Prize and Stalin Prize.

A self-styled Russian poet and performance artist, Dmitri Prigov was often branded eccentric for his non-conformist ways. He was initially trained as a sculptor and an architect. He also wrote plays and novels and performed music. He was also briefly arrested by the KGB and sent to a Soviet asylum.

Russian avant-garde painter and art theorist Ivan Kliun was known for his closeness to Suprematist artist Kazimir Malevich. Some of his best works, such as Gramophone, were inspired by Cubism. He later also deviated toward Purism. He had also created Cubo-Futurism-inspired sculpture. His subjects ranged from social realism to landscapes.

Sculptor Mark Antokolsky had begun his art career with works such as Jewish Tailor, that focused on Jewish themes. A bronze figure of Ivan the Terrible sculpted by him was bought by Russian emperor Alexander II, who later awarded him the title of Academic and a gold medal.

Polish sculptor and painter Helena Skirmunt was initially mostly homeschooled but later learned art at places such as Dresden, Vienna, and Paris. She specialized in both landscapes and family portraits, while she later focused on religious themes. She was deported in the wake of the January Uprisings.