- 517
Oleg Vassiliev
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
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Description
- Oleg Vassiliev
- Space II
- signed O. Vassiliev and titled "Space II" (on the reverse)
- oil on canvas
- 60 by 48 in.
- 152.4 by 121.9 cm
Literature
Natalia Kolodzei and Kira Vassiliev, Eds. Oleg Vassiliev: Memory Speaks, St. Petersburg: Palace Editions, 2004
Matthew Cullerne Bown, Contemporary Russian Art, Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited, 1989
S. S., "Oleg Vassiliev," A-Ya, no. 2, 1980, pp. 26-31
Matthew Cullerne Bown, Contemporary Russian Art, Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited, 1989
S. S., "Oleg Vassiliev," A-Ya, no. 2, 1980, pp. 26-31
Catalogue Note
While some of Oleg Vassiliev's works are completely abstract and are concerned with space and light, others blend representational motifs with nonobjective planar forms. Vassiliev views the canvas as a dividing line between the tangible world and the world of memory and feeling; the picture plane connects these two realms. His work is usually described as a melding of the two leading traditions in Russian art: early-twentieth-century avant-garde and nineteenth-century realist painting.
Between 1947 and 1952 Vassiliev studied at the Moscow Secondary Art School. He continued his studies in the graphic arts department of the Surikov Art Institute in 1952, graduating in 1958. However, it was not an official Soviet art institution but an experimental graphic artist, Vladimir Favorsky, and the Russian avant-garde artist Robert Falk who were the major influence on Vassiliev's work. From the early 1960s, Vassiliev began illustrating children's books with Eric Bulatov, a fellow nonconformist artist. Collaborating with Bulatov on book illustration for six months a year allowed Vassiliev to support himself and devote the rest of his time to painting. In 1967, Vassiliev was admitted to the Artists' Union as an illustrator.
The concept of light as illuminating all the components of existence is the most important aspect of Vassiliev's paintings. This 1990 work is a result of Vassiliev's sustained experiments in abstraction that he started in the 1960s. The artist constructed a complex, visually abstract space that joins two symmetrical and spectrally-colored spatial structures into a single field of light.
Between 1947 and 1952 Vassiliev studied at the Moscow Secondary Art School. He continued his studies in the graphic arts department of the Surikov Art Institute in 1952, graduating in 1958. However, it was not an official Soviet art institution but an experimental graphic artist, Vladimir Favorsky, and the Russian avant-garde artist Robert Falk who were the major influence on Vassiliev's work. From the early 1960s, Vassiliev began illustrating children's books with Eric Bulatov, a fellow nonconformist artist. Collaborating with Bulatov on book illustration for six months a year allowed Vassiliev to support himself and devote the rest of his time to painting. In 1967, Vassiliev was admitted to the Artists' Union as an illustrator.
The concept of light as illuminating all the components of existence is the most important aspect of Vassiliev's paintings. This 1990 work is a result of Vassiliev's sustained experiments in abstraction that he started in the 1960s. The artist constructed a complex, visually abstract space that joins two symmetrical and spectrally-colored spatial structures into a single field of light.