Alexander Naiman
The Vast World of a Small Person

Alexander Naiman’s artistic realm finds its origin in words, just like the cosmogony described in the Book of Genesis. The relatively small-scale exhibition encapsulates both the universal and the particular: from representations of the entire Creation to comical everyday scenes glimpsed in the streets back in the late 1950s.

The artist is creatively spurred by the desire to share a story, while his thematic scope probably harks back to a childhood spent in Mongolia – a land where the man’s place under the stars is perceived somewhat differently than in the densely populated cities. Naiman’s works suggest a certain universalism: he firmly believes that humanity has not changed much since the Mosaic covenant and the passing down of the Ten Commandments. That is why a knife grinder – a character well-known from memoirs detailing Soviet daily life – finds himself in the exhibition space alongside patriarch Abraham in the midst of making the most difficult decision of his life. In Alexander Naiman’s world, both the Old Testament stories and the street scenes exist in a state of permanent, ongoing Apocalypse: ultimate destruction invariably followed by the inception and development of something new, and then once again impending annihilation. This subject is explored in several artworks at once, from the intricate structure comprised of playing cards bearing the imprint of a Dürer engraving to a sculpture shaped like a filigree cannonball that seems to be on the point of exploding and collapsing the awkward supports welded askew by man.

In his creative practice, Alexander Naiman is guided by the simple principle ‘Just get down to it.’ A late bloomer in the medium of sculpture, the artist nevertheless draws on his impressive background (3 decades in civil aviation and many years of writing motion picture screenplays) for wisdom and storytelling talent that allow him to add a touch of humour even to a gruesome – by present-day standards – Bible account.