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[VALENTINA KULAGINA] Het tweede 5-jaarsplan [i.e. The Second Five-Year Plan]

Huijts, J.

Item #2400

The Hague: De Baanbreker Servire, 1932. 68 pp. 22x13,5 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers by Valentina Kulagina. The spine in chipped, edges of the wrappers rubbed, but otherwise good.

Scarce. First edition. Text in Dutch.

An intriguing edition featuring a striking constructivist wrapper by the noted Soviet avant-garde artist Valentina Kulagina (1902–1987). The design employs sharp angles, bold typography, and a dynamic composition to convey ideological messaging.

A faceless red figure appears to fall from a construction site, set against a towering steel structure and the diagonally placed title, Het Tweede 5-Jaarplan (The Second Five-Year Plan). The red, black, and gray palette, characteristic of Soviet propaganda art, evokes revolution and industrial progress, while the contrast between rigid architecture and the figure’s precarious position hints at both ambition and risk.

Valentina Kulagina (1902–1987) was a pioneering Soviet avant-garde artist, known for her bold contributions to constructivism and graphic design. As one of the few women in the male-dominated Soviet avant-garde movement, she developed a distinctive style that blended geometric abstraction with strong ideological messaging. While she is often associated with her husband, Gustav Klutsis (1895–1938), Kulagina’s solo works are rarer and harder to find on the book market. After Klutsis’s arrest and execution in 1938, Kulagina was labeled an «enemy of the people» and lost all opportunities for official employment.

Overall, a unique example of Valentina Kulagina’s constructivist work.

No copies found in Worldcat.

Price: $1,200.00