Sznajderman was born in Paris in 1926, moved to Spain with his parents to escape the dangers of WWII, and eventually relocated to Caracas, Venezuela where he received his formal art education under teachers Ramon Martin Durban, Rafael Monasterios, and Ventrillon-Horber. Moving to the US in 1949, he has taught art history and design at numerous distinguished institutions and exhibited his work in the US and in South America.
Sznajderman’s compositions are full of life with figures and faces juxtaposed amongst architectural elements, still lifes and landscapes.
They have strong elements of cubism, combined with the influence of his Venezuelan mentors.
Sznajderman experiments freely with various media, including gouache, textile paints, acrylics, pen & ink, and collage, as well as lithography and serigraphy.
His drawing style varies from a more graphic, bolder, and at times almost graffiti-like (L’Invitation Au Voyage) style on some pieces, to a loose, dried brush look with broken lines loosely defining forms, allowing colors to blend and help provide depth and define form (Hacienda, Still Life), bringing to mind artists of the Cubist period, such as Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Picasso and others.
Of particular note is Reminscences #2, a dreamlike scene filled with images of personal importance from his early years in Venezuela. A seated nude with a dark mask for a face: the model from art school. A manaquin wearing a dark maroon dress (velvet or satin) with formal hat representing his mother’s store in Caracas. A horned Devil of Yare carnival mask, a mythical bird, hidden faces, statues, and birds. One longs for the story behind this intriguing painting.
Selected works from this exhibition are currently on display in our Gallery A. Other work in our inventory are available to view in person by appointment.
