Yugoslavian Naïve Art (Jerry and Linda Rubenstein Collection)

These colorful, charming and magically expressionistic paintings include paintings on paper, canvas and board, as well as the unique reverse paintings on glass, a popular art form among the naïve artists of Yugoslavia, Hungary and Romania.  Any glass that you see in this exhibit is reverse painted, on the glass itself!

Inclined strongly towards an image of expressionistic realism, as in all naïve art around the work, the artists represented here each work in their own experiences within the reality of their personal lives.  Subjects from the everyday life of these rural, uneducated artists include family life and roles, religion, work and recreational themes.  Fidelity to architecture, nature, landscape and topographical concerns, costume and facial characteristics is of extreme importance and is carried out in every instance. In this regard, common motifs have developed and are easily identified with the art from this area.  Myths, fairy tales, local legend, motifs and icons from days past, as well as personal dreamscapes, are often represented in a surrealistic or native style akin to Salvador Dali or Henri Rousseau.