Painter, graphic artist, theorist of art. From 1911 to 1916 he studied at the Kiev College of Art, and later in the studio of A. Ekster. In 1915, together with El Lisitsky, he journeyed through the towns of Ukraine, making copies of ancient synagogue mural paintings. In 1918–20 he took part in the work of Kultur-Liga. From 1919 he began to elaborate his own theory regarding the course of Jewish art. He created a series of graphic works inluding "Jewish types of Ukraine", "Pogrom", "Small Town". In 1921 he emigrated to Germany, and in 1924 returned to the USSR, where he made an extended journey through the Jewish agricultural colonies in Ukraine and the Crimea. The result of this journey was a series of works entitled "In the Jewish fields". He also worked in Jewish theatres. In 1926 he left the USSR for good and went to live in France.