1956
oil on canvas
113 x 147

The artist has been mainly working on the problems of abstract painting, but during the 1950s he often was drawn to figurative art and dealt with social subjects. In his works of this type, including the painting Display Window, the author strived to record the usual fragmentary pieces of the modern city as one might see them when out on a walk, In such compositions Zlotnikov revealed the genuine realities of life, in contrast to the joyfully staged scenes of Soviet life that were widespread in art of the day. The simple display window of a hat store provides an attractive pretext for his painting. Forms, colour and rhythm are conveyed on the canvas with all the details by the artist’s own expressive manner of brush strokes and are full of special charm. This unpretentious composition is an unusual document which reveals the true appearance and characteristic details of urban life.

at 10, Krymsky Val, Hall 30