Painter, graphic artist, author of objects, installations. In 1951–1956 he studied at the Department of Theatre of Moscow’s Art School whose name commemorated the year 1905. D.P.Plavinsky is one of the founders and leaders of "unofficial" art in the late 50s through the early 70s. In 1965 the artist E.L.Kropivnitsky wrote this about him: "Plavinsky’s work is a combination of Abstract art, Surrealism, naturalism, oil painting, ink drawing, gypsum relief and painted carvings". In terms of technical perfection the artist’s etchings have no parallels in contemporary Russian art. Plavinsky’s images reflected the traditions of Symbolism. His works’ relief colours produce the impression of "archaeological" layers being painted one over the other. "Word" (1967) is one of the central works of that period. His journeys in Central Asia and ancient Russian towns in 1959–1965 gave birth to a range of favourite images, which grew broader in later years due to his interest in ancient civilisations – Aztec and Crete. From 1966 onwards Plavinsky spent long periods of time in a village, and images of the degradation of the countryside figured largely in a series of his etchings. Starting from 1977 he was preoccupied with the creation of lacquer and lessirovka objects where space became the focal point. As of 1988 he began supplementing his compositions with graphic notes from works by J.S.Bach, Mozart, Igor Stravinsky and modern composers. In recent years the artist has focused his work on images of old European towns and images of the United States where he has been spending most of his time since 1991.