Oleg Vassiliev

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the background tends more towards a soft ivory and the blue tends more towards navy in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is very minor wear to all four corners and in places along all four extreme edges with associated tension cracks. There are a few faint handling marks in places around all four edges and also in a few places in the white painted areas of paint. There are two short, faint rub marks to the centre of the composition, approximately 15cm. up from the bottom edge. There is a further extremely fine rub mark towards the lower left hand corner. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Oleg Vassiliev graduated from the Moscow V.I Surikov State Art Institute in 1958 where he met Erik Bulatov, his long-term collaborator with whom he shared a studio for many years. Although Vassiliev officially conformed to Soviet standards in his work, he and Bulatov also participated in the Soviet Nonconformist Art movement, known as "unofficial" or "dissident" art.  

Memory is a key component in Vassiliev's metaphysical paintings and he often interweaves fragments of the past with landscape and portraiture. Based on a principle of 'open' painting, according to which the physical frame of the painting no longer acts as a boundary, Vassiliev's compositions are stretched or compressed to build an inversely-symmetrical structure, closely resembling a window. He strongly believed in the function of line as a dominant principle, favouring the principles of geometry and Constructivism over traditional modes of expression as a guide into an alternative reality and inner spiritual world. 

In the offered work, intense light is key in uniting the fragmented elements of the painting; it illuminates the image of family bliss and infuses it with a force that recalls the artist's own words 'I want to energise the ordinary within an organised geometric structure.'