Dmitri Petrovich Plavinsky, b.1937

Plavinsky describes himself as a natural follower of the philosophy of Oswald Spengler (1880-1936).  Spengler's revolutionary book, The Decline of the West (1918) presented a theory of the cyclical rise and decline of civilisations, which was far-reaching in its influence on post WWII Western culture.  It led to a new preoccupation among writers, artists and thinkers with ancient, native cultures, notably bringing about the rise of the Beat Generation in America.  In his art, Plavinsky explores the roots of civilisation, recording his reflections on canvas in the manner of an archaeologist searching for signs of life, mining and documenting objects from lost periods in history.  Fascinated especially by pre-history, Plavinsky fills his work with images of fossils and marine life, such as shells - the subject of the offered lot.

His unorthodox technique relies on the plastic qualities of paint and a love of texture and he often adds sand and mud to his paints.  In later works, he experiments with a new, labour-intensive approach involving the use of varnish and multi-layered brushwork creating a depth in his painting, in which the subject can become either absorbed or dematerialised.

Sharing the beatnik's love of the road, in the 70s and 80s Plavinsky travelled extensively in the Soviet Union to Central Asia and the Russian North, visiting sites of archaeological interest where he would lament the decayed state of Russia's ancient religious monuments.  Following Perestroika, he moved to New York in 1991, where he continued to develop his ideas.  In his imagination, Manhattan Island is turned into a gigantic fossilized fish, resulting in a cycle of compositions on this theme, the most important of which was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.