Tchachnik, Ilia

1902 – 1929 : Ilya Grigorevich Chashnik (1902, Lucyn, Russian Empire, currently Ludza, Latvia – 1929, Leningrad) was a suprematist artist, a pupil of Kazimir Malevich and a founding member of the UNOVIS school. Chashnik was born to a Jewish family in 1902, Lucyn, Russian Empire, currently Ludza, Latvia. Chashnik was notably able in a variety of media. Aleksandra Semenovna Shatskikh describes him as “famous for his inexhaustible inventiveness and ability to apply Suprematist principles to virtually all forms of art, including easel painting.” He painted, was proficient in metalwork, and designed ceramics produced at the Imperial Porcelain Factory (then known as the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory). He died in 1929 in Leningrad, at the age of 27.