Artwork
Suprematism
Suprematism is an oil painting by the Suprematist artist Ilya Chashnik. It dates from 1924 and is held in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery. Created in 1924 by Ilya Grigorevich Chashnik, this oil painting exemplifies the Suprematist approach to abstraction.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1924 by Ilya Grigorevich Chashnik, this oil painting exemplifies the Suprematist approach to abstraction. The composition consists of overlapping rectangles rendered in a range of gray tones, generating a subtle sense of depth through variations in thickness and edge definition.
Subject & Meaning
The work eschews representational content, focusing instead on the interplay of geometric forms. By arranging rectangles of differing weight and hue, the artist explores the visual tension between solidity and space, a core concern of Suprematist theory.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting benefits from the medium’s capacity for layered texture, allowing the rectangles to exhibit both crisp, straight edges and more irregular, jagged outlines. The limited grayscale palette emphasizes form over color, reinforcing the movement’s emphasis on pure geometric expression.
History & Provenance
Chashnik, a student of Kazimir Malevich and a founding member of the UNOVIS collective, produced the piece during the height of the Suprematist movement. It entered the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, where it remains part of the museum’s holdings of early Soviet avant‑garde art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ilya Grigorevich Chashnik (26 June 1902 – 4 March 1929) was a suprematist artist, a pupil of Kazimir Malevich and a founding member of the UNOVIS school.
