Artwork
Composition with Spheres
Composition with Spheres is an unspecified painting by the Art Informel artist Pavel Filonov. It dates from 1930 and is held in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1930 by Russian avant‑garde figure Pavel Filonov, Composition with Spheres belongs to the informalist strand of early‑20th‑century abstraction. The canvas is part of the Tretyakov Gallery’s permanent collection, where it is displayed among other works that illustrate the period’s experimental departure from representational art.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a dense network of geometric fragments, small rectangles, intersecting lines, and irregular shapes, arranged in a seemingly chaotic field. Though no explicit narrative is offered, the composition evokes the sensation of looking down on an urban grid, suggesting a modern, mechanized environment rendered through abstract visual language.
Technique & Style
Filonov combines smooth, flat areas of pigment with heavily textured passages, creating a tactile contrast across the surface. A vivid palette of primary reds, blues and yellows intermixes with more subdued tones, while the overlapping forms generate a kaleidoscopic effect that challenges the eye’s ability to resolve a single focal point.
History & Provenance
After its completion, the work entered the collection of Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, where it has remained a reference point for the artist’s contribution to Russian avant‑garde and informalist practices. Its presence in the museum underscores the institution’s commitment to preserving pivotal works from the early Soviet artistic avant‑garde.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Pavel Nikolayevich Filonov (Russian: Па́вел Никола́евич Фило́нов, IPA:; January 8, 1883 – December 3, 1941) was a Russian avant-garde painter, art theorist, and poet.
