Early life David Burliuk was born on 21 July 1882 in the village of in the
Kharkov Governorate of the
Russian Empire. Burliuk's family was artistically inclined; two of his brothers were talented artists as well,
Nikolai and
Vladimir Burliuk. The Burliuk family partly descended from Ukrainian
Cossacks on their father's side, who held positions in the
Hetmanate. His mother, Ludmyla Mikhnevich, was of ethnic Belarusian descent.
Education and career From 1898 to 1904, he studied at
Kazan and
Odessa art schools, as well as at the Royal Academy in
Munich. He studied under
Anton Ažbe, who called Burliuk a "wonderful wild steppe horse".
Early works In 1907, he made contact with the Russian art world; he met and befriended
Mikhail Larionov, and they are both credited as being major forces in bringing together the contemporary art world. In 1908, an exhibition with the group
Zveno ("The Link") in
Kiev was organized by David Burliuk together with
Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine,
Alexander Bogomazov, his brother
Wladimir Burliuk and
Aleksandra Ekster. The exhibition was unsuccessful, especially because they were all unknown painters. Soon afterwards, the group would morph into literary
Cubo-Futurism, the predominant form of Futurism in Russia.
Cubo-Futurism Futurist performances allegedly aimed to provoke strong reactions from audiences, sometimes including disruptions and controversy. The artists and poets sometimes wore unconventional clothing and painted their faces, Around 1913, Mayakovsky, Kamensky, and Burliuk embarked on poetry tours, where performances were sometimes met with hostile audience reactions. In 1917, he participated in an exhibition with the group
Jack of Diamonds in the artists' salon in Moscow, which included
Aleksandra Ekster and
Kazimir Malevich. In 1916, his brother Wladimir was drafted into military service, and in 1917 was killed in
World War I in
Saloniki. The next year, following the downfall of anarchism (he had befriended anarchists during the time he lived in an abandoned house), Burliuk fled Russia and began his journey to the United States, a process that took him through Siberia, Japan, and Canada which was not complete until 1922. In 1922, he settled in the United States. A colossal sized painting from this period titled
Advent of the Mechanical Man, 1925–26, was exhibited in the
Brooklyn Museum's 1926
International Exhibition of Modern Art Assembled by
Société Anonyme. In New York, Burliuk developed activity in pro-Soviet oriented groups and, having written a poem for the 10th anniversary of the
October Revolution, sought, in particular, to gain recognition as the "father of Russian futurism". He was a regular contributor to the
Russian Voice newspaper. Burliuk published his collections, brochures, and magazines together with his wife Maria Nikiforovna, and through friends he distributed these publications mainly within the USSR. In 1925, Burliuk was a co-founder of the Association of Revolutionary Masters of Ukraine (ARMU) with the members
Alexander Bogomazov,
Vasiliy Yermilov,
Vadym Meller,
Alexander Khvostenko-Khvostov, and
Palmov Victor. In 1927, he participated in an exhibition of the Latest Artistic Trends in the Russian Museum in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), together with
Kazimir Malevich,
Aleksandr Shevchenko, and
Vladimir Tatlin. Burliuk was author of autobiographical sketches
My Ancestors, Forty Years: 1890–1930.
Later years In the 1930s,
Onya La Tour was an avid collector of modern art who acquired at least one hundred works by Burliuk. In 1940, Burliuk petitioned the Soviet government for a request to visit his homeland. In exchange, he offered a sizeable collection of archival material pertaining to his contemporary and friend
Vladimir Mayakovsky, which Burliuk offered to donate to the Mayakovsky Museum in addition to over 100 original paintings. Burliuk's requests were denied. He was allowed to visit the Soviet Union only in 1956 In 1962, he and his wife traveled to Australia where he held an exhibition at Moreton Galleries, Brisbane. It was his only Australian exhibition. During his stay there, Burliuk painted some sketches and works with Australian views. From 1937 to 1966, Burliuk and his wife, Marusia, published
Color & Rhyme, a journal primarily concerned with charting Burliuk's activities. His house and studio still remain. ==Legacy==