Oleg Prokofiev: Sculptures 1978-1979

Oleg Prokofiev Sculptures 1978-79

During the year in Paris, Prokofiev became friends with an artist named William Brui. They planned a trip together to New York, to experience the culture and see the cityscape for themselves.

Prokofiev found the contrast between America and Western Europe shocking- the ‘aggressive verticalism’ of looming towers, sharp skyscrapers and the hustle of a busy city fascinated the artist who had never seen anything like it before. The works produced after visiting New York clearly show a bold change of style, resulting in his ‘stripe’ paintings.

Oleg Prokofiev Sculpture 1978-1979

‘I believe when I came here I was still working as I had in Russia. But as I changed a little bit, then I realised I must change completely, and… I turned to three-dimensional work. I do still paint but it is no longer the important thing, although I may return to it.’

To Felicity McCormick: Yorkshire Post Nov 1985

One day, back in his London studio, Prokofiev stuck a strip of wood to the canvas instead of painting another stripe. His next work happened to be a painted relief, and after that he dispensed with the flat surface entirely. He began fashioning tower blocks and stacked buildings from ready-made planks and sticks, creating organic constructivist sculptures. He nicknamed his assembled miniature skyscrapers ‘splinter-suprematisms’ or ‘space-collages’. These brightly saturated skyline sculptures demonstrate a definite departure from the greys, browns, and masking white works of the 60’s and early 70’s.

With his studio right by the Thames, Prokofiev would scavenge the city beach for driftwood and other washed up objects to use.

The boundaries between painting and sculpture were in constant flux as he cut and assembled the wood, shaping the structures further with paint. He resisted calling these ‘sculptures’, using the term only according to strict definition, at a loss for a more satisfactory label.

Barewood Tower Painted wood, 26 x 16 x 15 cm 1979

Barewood Tower Painted wood, 22 x 22 x 8 cm 1979

Black Tower Painted wood, 60 x 13 x 19 cm 1979

Large Tower Painted wood, 150 x 50 x 57 cm 1979

Oval Manhattan Red Blue Purple Painted wood, 74 x 45 cm 1979

Oval Manhattan Blue Mauve Painted wood, 77 x 45 cm 1979

Pink Barewood Tower Painted wood, 56 x 18 x 15 cm 1979

Small Black Tower Painted wood, 21 x 13 x 10 cm 1979

Small Tower Red Blue Purple Painted wood, 30 x 18 x 17 cm 1979

Standing Manhattan Red Blue Painted wood, 38 x 31 x 5 cm 1979

Tall Tower Painted wood, 69 x 11 x 11 cm 1979

Tower Pink Red White Painted wood, 46 x 12 x 11 cm 1979

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