Naïve art or the work of non-professional artists often do not get attention from gallerists and art critics. However, it can be just as dramatic and artistically significant as other works by famous artists.
Art created by a naïve artist is usually the result of someone without any formal education. While they can’t paint like a professional, their unique perspective is refreshing and worth noting.
Many people choose to collect paintings of naive art. Let’s get acquainted with one of them.
The Mayor of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman, has set up an exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts. It features private collections from people who don’t have much experience with art but still want to donate the work that they’ve done. As experts can attest, this is not just the continuation of a tradition by sending off to museums renowned collections, but also a precedent in urban culture – 30 naive artists have never been shown before.
The bulk of his collection consists of Yekaterinburg- and Sverdlovsk-regional artists. Nina Varfolomeeva and Albert Korovkin’s work is notable and has already been published in “The World Encyclopedia of Naïve Art.” The paintings of the ethnofuturist Echik Bartsev have been exhibited more than once in Yekaterinburg. A separate place in the exposition is occupied by the works of the well-known Permian writer Nina Gorlanova. At the same time, most of their collection is exhibited exclusively, including miniature and unique exhibits.
The blue, beige and green colors all work together to dominate the hall. Poems are placed near some works, but the viewer’s attention is focused on the collection without distraction.
It all started when somebody took a picture of Yevgeny Roizman
Roizman argues how naive art portrays the souls of people and is very touching.
Evgeny Vadimovich talks about many artists as old friends, but unfortunately, he knows nothing about others. After all, paintings are not always bought, sometimes they go by accident to a collector.
What pictures can be seen?
The painting “Pioneers caught an English spy” by Svetlov is a reflection of Russian reality. Surprisingly, the cart and girl are depicted with remarkable accuracy. The pioneer boy stands guard next to the captured spy, who he will likely shoot on the spot.
The works of artists were grouped according to the author-thematic principle, since each naive artist develops the main theme of his or her life in their work. One example of this is Ustyugov, who wrote a book about the history of the Urals both modern and ancient. Varfolomeev also wrote a book about rural life in pre-war Russia. Bartsev may have had an interesting story to tell as well – his book was on the fate of the Mari people. Kamensky seems to have written.
The mayor’s collection of art has a number of pieces that are this. While the plot isn’t for everyone, these works focus on colors, shapes and textures. In the art by Trofimova, Korovkin and Yazykov one can see the artist’s enjoyment in technique. This can be seen in their ‘playful’ color usage. In her naive paintings, Gorlanova mixes biblical motifs and intellectual reflections on themes from traditional, classical painting.
The organizers of the exhibition believe that naive art is an unsolved phenomenon of our time. Historically, it ties back to folk icon painting and peasant house painting, which is an indication of self-taught artists trying to make canonical paintings more magnificent. This is done by transferring the images and stories of narrative painting to peasant life.
Primitive art has always been around. You can find it in the rock paintings that have been there for centuries, as well as old sculptures like Kouros and Caryatids. The current ‘naïve art’ movement is a century old and has its roots in the late 19th century.
What makes naive art special?
Naivists explore universal themes like birth and death, love & home. Their work is simple to understand as they express their simple but often confusing ideas using symbolism less and hidden meanings even less.
Another oft-repeated subject in naive art is the image of a person – particularly a self-portrait. The naivists explored the world through the lens of their personality and appearance, often exaggerating these aspects to further convey their emotions. And artists are also interested in a way of reflecting the inner world of a person in their appearance. So portrait paintings provide the viewer with an opportunity to really get to know the artist’s subject, almost as a person.
Contemporary art is full of creativity and authenticity, simultaneously trying to capture both nature and cities. It also strives to capture figures & landscapes, beliefs & folk traditions. These artists are frank with their uniqueness, immediacy, and timelessness which allows them to flourish in the modern era. They don’t want to change the world with their art. They know that it can be a powerful tool for escaping from the seriousness of life and transitioning through difficult times.
Naive art often reflects a more innocent and tranquil world, which contrasts with the harsher realities of the outside world.
One of the key features of naive genre is that its plots have been influenced by subjective experience.
As self-learners seek to express themselves, they unconsciously turn to the forms of childrens creativity – contouring and flattened space. They are drawn towards decoration as their primary medium. Older adults struggle to draw the same way a child would but they are able to directly sense life’s beauty in the same way children do. What sets naive art apart from more “sophisticated” forms of art is simply how the artist perceives it. The artist and their art is as inseparable as author and text.
The prototypes of the objects depicted in the work exist in the artist’s imagination in the form of sketches, or materialized but immobile phantoms. It is only with the completion of each picture that they will animate. This life created on canvas is with each sentence, a new myth coming to life.
An artist who’s not well-read depicts not so much what he sees as what he knows. The desire to convey his views about things, people, the world inevitably leads the writer towards clarity and schematization – a state when the simpler processes become more significant.
Evgeny Roizman: “I would describe the exhibition as being my life’s work. It’s what I do and it’s who I am.”