Ilya Bolotowsky (July 1, 1907 – November 22, 1981) was a leading early 20th-century Russian-American painter in abstract styles in New York City. His work, a search for philosophical order through visual expression, embraced cubism and geometric abstraction and was influenced by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.
Russian-American master artist, Ilya Bolotowsky is one of the leading exponents of the neo-plasticism movement. Neoplasticism is the belief that art should not be the reproduction of real objects, but the expression of the absolutes of life. To the artists way of thinking, the only absolutes of life were vertical and horizontal lines and the primary colors. To this end neoplasticisist only used planar elements and the colors red, yellow, and blue.
“As a neo-plasticist, I strive after an ideal of harmony. …Neoplasticism can achieve unequaled tension, equilibrium, and harmony through the relationship of the vertical and horizontal elements.”(Ilya Bolotowsky, March 15, 1969)
Bolotowsky’s work is in the collections of many major modern art museums around the world.
