Dreams
oil on canvas, 1997, 46” x 42” (117cm x 107cm)

There is a timeless antiquity to Dreams (1997), and perhaps the paintings lack of sense of time is the strongest feature of this work.   The balance of light and darkness in the painting is a sweeping achievement, accomplishing a grand harmony between the subject and the many more subtle features in the painting.   The composition, aside from it’s technical mastery and grandiose arrangement of shades and lights, is like a collection of aesthetic arrangements. 

The silver vase, tray, and pitcher, are an especial trademark of Pogrebinsky’s work, and the delicate pealing of the orange next to the apple give an abundant and fragrant atmosphere to the small inner-composition still-life which was last seen in Pogrebinsky’s earlier American works.   (Detail 3).

The intricacy of the table-cloth design and the skirt blends softly into the darkened tones of the work (Detail 2, Detail 1).  The design of the dress is a dream-like memory of the great nineteenth century attire.   The gold and black, though, suggests deeper and more alive emotions then the plain lighter colors of those days.  

It is always an interesting phenomenon when artists paint works of art within works of art – it is very much a pure creative force being mirrored against the canvas.  The two paintings should present special interest, for they are very different from one another and give off a faint distinction from the abstract works of the artist.    The painting on the left, which is the smallest one, seems to be consumed by the same flowing design as that which falls over the dress and the table-cloth, the golden frame complements the tones of the women’s hair, neck, dress, and goes along with the fluid motion of light on the wall.   The smaller painting also has the detached harmony which corresponds to the woman – who is also a somewhat detached individual in the work.   The painting on the right, representing the darker bigger force, seems to be part of the attached world of roses, fruits, darker shades and shadows.

The influence of Vermeer cannot be discredited, for the artist has always found inspiration in the Dutch master.   In all of Pogrebinsky’s work nowhere else do we find the acknowledgment of masters of an older earlier age so clearly then we do in this one.  In Dreams Pogrebinsky seems to be like an accomplished student, paying homage to the old aesthetic conceptions while playing with a new and more forceful arrangement of darkness and light, resulting in a stunning visual work.