TIFLIS AVANT-GARDE. 41 Degree Group. SIGIZMUND (ZIGA) VALISHEVSKY (RUSSIAN-POLISH 1897–1936)
A Group Of 4 Futurist Drawings , ca. 1919-1920
3 ink on paper, 1 watercolor on paper
35.5 x 22 cm (14 x 8 3/4 in.) each
3 signed lower right, 1 lower center, 1 titled 'Letters of the Lover'

LOT NOTES
Sigizmund (Ziga) Valishevsky was born in St. Petersburg and grew up in Batumi and Tiflis. As an illustrator he is closely associated with Russian and Georgian Avant-Garde movements, especially with Futurism, and was a friend of and collaborator with artists and poets such as Lado Gudiashvili, Kiril and Ilya Zdanevich, Sergei Sudeikin, Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikian and Aleksey Kruchenykh. Being a member of the Syndicate of Futurists, he contributed to the interior decoration of the famous Fantastic Tavern (Fantasticheskij Kabachok) and Khimireoni Cabaret in Tiflis, and illustrated many avant-garde publications, including the magazines APS, and Art, almanacs for the Futurist group "41 Degrees," and a variety of books.Valishevsky was also responsible for creating a design for the drop curtain for the Theater of Opera and Ballet in Tiflis.

In 1921 Valishevsky moved to Krakow, where he studied at the Krakow Art Academy and influenced young Polish artists with his progressive ideas. In 1923 with the help of Gudiashvili he moved to Paris where he was introduced to Picasso and Modigliani. In 1931 Ziga moved back to Krakow, where he decorated a cover for Wawel Castle.