65. Sergey Shablavin (Russian, born 1944) Jour. Structure du Cercle. Méditation./ Day. Structure if the Circle. Meditation. signé en cyrillique, titré et daté « 1996 » (au verso) huile sur toile diameter: 84 cm Provenance Acquired directly from the artist Private collection, Netherlands In his works, Shablavin, a devotee of classical painting and conceptualism, managed to embody a harmonious synthesis of mathematically precise geometric forms together with a truly romantic view of reality. His reality, created outside the political context and Soviet reality, originates in the foundations of the universe. Global balance and harmony form the basis of his creative approach. In his works, Shablavin emphasizes form, with subject matter becoming secondary, but it is through the interaction of spaces that this depth and truly cosmic scale is achieved. The artist began experimenting with the circle form in the early 1970s, and since then spherical compositions have become his favorite technique. This approach allowed the artist to find the perfect embodiment of all his ideas. "It is not necessary to paint in corners—everything most important for the painting is concentrated in the center. The circle is a successful form for expressing universal things, contemplative experiences. The rectangle, like a photograph, implies the existence of a world beyond its boundaries, but beyond the circle nothing can exist—it includes the entire Universe and is very suitable for expressing universals." (Sergei Shablavin)