Vladimir Boberman was born in 1897 in the Armenian city Yerevan, which was then part of the Russian Empire. After World War I, Boberman left his native country to start his art career in Paris. There, he exhibited his paintings at the annual Paris Salon. Most notably, Boberman designed abstract carpets for the Decoration Interieure Modern firm (DIM). In 1929, DIM published a collection of his carpets. This stencil displays one of Boberman's designs. In this pochoir series, Boberman uses stencils to produce these refreshingly minimalist and geometric artworks, the bases for what would go on to be printed on his saught-after carpets. This stencil technique of printing originated in the 16th Century to mass produce playing cards. After centuries of usage, however, stenciling fell out of fashion in the 30s because of high labour costs, making this Boberman pochoir series one of the latest examples of the technique while it was still common practice.

Artist: Vladimir Boberman

Year: 1929

Drawer31B-#21