February 18 - March 30 2023

Jerry and Linda Rubenstein Collection: Yugoslavian Naïve Art

From collector, Jerry Rubenstein: “A rich heritage of Yugoslavia, naïve art brings a message of humanness to the viewer.”

The Jung Center Gallery is honored to present this exhibit of Yugoslavian Naïve Art from the collection of Jerry and Linda Rubenstein.  The works on exhibit bring together an impressive group of the best known and respected naïve artists from the Eastern Bloc countries.

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.

– From past curator, Martha Terrill

Artist's Reception: February 18 2023, 5-7pm