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The Avant Garde

Picasso costume	Pochoir (watercolour)	Cuthbert Hamilton: Vorticist plate

The new visual language, colour and iconography of early twentieth-century avant-garde art had a profound impact on Art Deco. Movements such as Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, De Stijl, Suprematism and Constructivism – frequently bundled together under the label of 'Cubism' – transformed all the decorative arts. Art Deco designers were quick to use their geometric, abstract and fragmented vocabulary to evoke the dynamism of modern urban culture.

At the same time, many avant-garde artists applied their ideas to design. In France, Sonia Delaunay experimented with bright colour and geometric forms in designs for graphics, fashion and textiles. In Czechoslovakia, artists, architects and designers applied the ideas of Cubism to buildings and objects of everyday use. And in Russia, artists like Nikolai Suetin and Kasimir Malevich created Suprematist ceramics and textiles.

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