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Grisha Bruskin
Adam Kadmon ("Vision"), Kabbalistic Jewish Russian sculpture signed & inscribed

1992

$4,500
£3,402.42
€3,983.50
CA$6,402.38
A$6,512.39
CHF 3,737.45
MX$78,286.60
NOK 43,597.20
SEK 44,007.63
DKK 29,780.29

About the Item

Grisha Bruskin Adam Kadmon (Vision), Signed and signed dedicated to art historian and collector Jacob Baal Teshuva), 1992 Steel Sculpture (Signed, Dated & Dedicated) 6 × 6 × 3 inches Edition AP (a unique inscribed proof, aside from the regular edition of 300) Hand-signed by artist, Incised signature along with personal dedication "To Jacob/Very Friendly/Grisha Bruskin 12/5/1992". Grisha Bruskin was chosen in 2017 to represent Russia at the Venice Biennale. This early work, "Adam Kadmon" referring to the essential soul, (also called Vision) is a theme that the artist has reprised decades later - a marvelous example of Bruskin's Kabbalistic- inspired art works. This work is especially valuable as it was acquired from the collection of renowned art historians and collectors Jacob and Aviva Baal Teshuva, bearing a personal dedication inscribed on the base of the art work. (See photographs). In Russia, Bruskin had been accused of creating “subversive” Soviet art and “Jewish propaganda". But he's said, “We have no prejudice here. Even Russians can feel something for art. Some Russians understand the Jewish paintings and some stupid Jewish people do not. It depends upon the person.” Below is an excerpt from a 1988 New York Times profile on Bruskin: “It is my intention to create two lines of mythology based on the mentality of socialism and Judaism,” he solemnly declares, while acknowledging the “difficulty of looking at Soviet art with Western criteria.” Bruskin’s paintings of Jewish characters are equally perplexing to some Soviets, though their meaning is not as evident because he has invented his own symbols. “In Egyptian or Assyrian art, there were symbolic equivalents of beliefs, but not in Judaism,” he says. “I was interested in creating them not at a secular level but at an artistic level.” In his Jewish-themed works, gnome-like characters may appear upside-down, carrying an angel, a menorah or a strange beast. Snippets of Hebrew text on the background call attention to the importance of the written word to Judaism. “The authority of the text is total in the Torah,” he says. “It is necessary to know how to read, but the Hebrew text in the paintings is only fragmentary. That leaves the meaning open and equivocal. “Some people have wondered if this is serious or a joke. I don’t want to dot all the I’s or cross all the T’s. Nobody will know what it means, but everybody asks.”
  • Creator:
    Grisha Bruskin (1945, Russian)
  • Creation Year:
    1992
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6 in (15.24 cm)Width: 6 in (15.24 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Very good vintage condition with natural oxidation to the metal.
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1745215075862

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