Oleg Vassiliev

Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1995

Oleg Vassiliev is one of the most important artists of the late-Soviet period. Nevertheless, the “non-conformist” title hardly suits him. More preoccupied with painterly explorations of light and space, his works are distinctly apolitical. They capture glimpses of memory in depictions of landscapes, people and abstract forms.

Vassiliev draws his early inspiration from Russian painters of the late 19^th century, such as Shishkin and Levitan. He masterfully combines their realistic depictions of Russian landscape with formal experimentations of early 20^th century avant-garde. Vassiliev’s paintings that incorporate geometrically arranged spectrums of colour either framing the work itself or one of its elements are most recognisable of his entire oeuvre.

The presented lot provides a prime example of such work. A radiating, almost fluorescent spectral frame opens into a central depiction of a tree with broken branches. Almost appearing from within, as if one had been staring at the sun, the rainbow blues, yellows, reds and greens do not distract from the vision, but rather accentuate it. Characteristically, Vassiliev’s painterly mastery and carefully applied brushstrokes allow geometrical abstraction to seamlessly unite with realistic figuration.

The tree itself appears to stand amongst a small forest at city outskirts. A landscape typical of Moscow was painted away from the artist’s hometown, after he had moved to New York in early 1990. The broken tree thus symbolises a break from the past, yet is portrayed as a pleasant memory signalling new beginnings. According to the artist, “Leaves naturally reappear each spring. But before their appearance there is a brief flurry of withered leaves from the previous year- a metaphor for personal memory. Life continues as long as memory exists”[1]. Memory comes to life on Vassiliev’s canvases and affirms present reality through fragments of the past.

[1]O. Vassiliev “How I Became an Artist” (1997), quoted in O. Vassiliev, Memory Speaks: Themes and Variations, St. Petersburg, 2004, p. 22

Fig. 1:Oleg Vassiliev, Landscape with Space, 1988, oil on canvas, 179 by 179cm, Collection Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, Gift of Dr. Donna Steinberg 1999.0041 / 13524