Born in Russia, Ossip Zadkine spent most of his career in Paris, except 1940 to 1945, when he lived in New York City during the war years. He was known for his cubist and expressionist sculptures, carved in wood, and he experimented in the use of concavities, meaning "creating open space with within the space determined by the material." (Gardner 777).

He is credited as an important teacher of American direct wood carvers including Israel Levitan, Sidney Geist, Gabriel Kohn, Hugh Townley, and George Sugarman.

Source:
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"
Helen Gardner, "Art Through the Ages"

Biography from AskArt