DMITRI PLAVINSKY (RUSSIAN 1937-2012)
The Arno Bridges, 1997
oil, acrylic, and graphite on canvas
107 x 157.5 cm (42 x 62 in.)
monogrammed lower right; signed, dated and titled on verso

PROVENANCE
Michael and Lynda Gardner Collection, New York

ILLUSTRATED
John E. Bowlt et al, Dmitri Plavinsky, (New York: Rizzoli, 2000), reproduced in full page color on p. 128

LOT NOTES
Dmitri Plavinsky was one of the key representatives and leaders of the artistic nonconformist movement in Russia in the 1960s. The artist defined his artistic style as one of "Structural Symbolism," in which the unified image of the world is broken down into sequences of symbols submerged in the layers of time: past, present, and future. Avoiding the difficult post-Perestroika years, in 1992 Plavinsky moved to New York City, where he lived and created until 2004. In 1996 the artist traveled to Italy, which inspired him to create a series of works for a solo exhibitions ÒIn search of ItalyÓ, represented in this lot, and reproduced on a full page in the 2000 monograph on the artist published by Rizzoli. This view over a majestic Florence and the Arno river, apart from its beauty, vibrates with a spiritualism that is mystic and transcendent, even above Brunelleschi's dome, done in a way that is quintessentially Plavinsky's.