Portrait of Pavlova with guitar 1975

Dmitri Zhilinsky created this painting, "Portrait of Pavlova with guitar," using traditional oil paints. Look closely, and you’ll notice that the space is filled with objects of skilled making: a carved wooden sculpture and the tools used to create it, a carefully-made guitar, and even Pavlova’s knitted sweater and boots. Each of these objects embody skill, practice, and even a kind of labor. The sculpture, rendered in a somewhat modernist style, suggests that Pavlova and Zhilinsky were part of a creative community that embraced both art and craft. The tools on the table, mallet and chisels, imply a respect for materiality and the hands-on work of shaping wood. Even the guitar, an instrument of music, can be viewed as a crafted object. By bringing together these elements, Zhilinsky blurs the lines between the fine arts and the applied arts, and emphasizes the importance of skill and making. It's a reminder that artistic expression is not limited to the canvas, but can be found in the everyday objects that surround us.