Lev Shteiman Symbolic Art
Classic and Modern Paintings from 1976 to 2008
Artist Explanation: Modern Paintings
I produced these modern paintings in a series of three categories.
The first series was inspired by the Bible and the Jewish Kabala. They represent Bible stories including the story of God's creation of the Universe, which is explained on page one in the Bible... "in the beginning".
The second series is based on mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture and symbolic pictures and statutes of that time. I have spent twenty years investigating and studying Egyptian mythology, construction of the pyramids and tombs of the pharaohs. Paintings in this series have fragments of pre-historic symbols from different Egyptian mythological king-gods of Upper and Lower Egypt. These gods were believed to be rulers of heaven, earth and the underworld, at a time when the basic concept of creation of the universe was that it was made from a cosmic egg. Examples are: Osiris-god of dead and resurrection, Atum-god of creation, Hathor-invisible god, Maet-goddess of truth, Amen-re and his son, Khons.
None of us know for sure the real meaning intended by these ancient artists. Perhaps even thousands of years ago, they were only understandable to a select group of Egyptians. I believe the hidden messages, which represent the secrets of matter, time, life and death, found in the pyramids and Bible, were translated in this ancient symbolic art and still connect us to our contemporary lives, including modern technology.
The third series relates to Matter, Energy and Soul. These pictures show invisible molecular and atomic structure of matter and energy as well as the different qualities of the human soul, painted like fireballs, created for people with curiosity and desire to understand the message.
What we do with matter and spirit is based on how much we understand and how much we control it. Matter is connected to anti-matter. Light does not exist without darkness. Male and female do not survive without one another. God, in my opinion, is the greatest artist of all; his brush strokes surround us and are in us.
I have asked myself why and for whom have I created this entire series of paintings. Each picture has deep meaning, impossible to explain, using what I believe to be the same techniques utilized by the ancient Egyptian artists.
These messages are perhaps only detectable by those with a deep appreciation of art. When I studied the Bible and Egyptian, Incan, and Aztec art, pre historic cultures talked to me through the prism of time, utilizing the language of symbolic art. I was ready to learn and understand. Whoever is ready to learn and know may find a doorway to wisdom and knowledge about who ultimately gave us the key to understanding and our individual place in the universe.
Physical and spiritual immortality depicted through Egyptian pyramids and the Bible, plus knowledge about matter and energy, led me to develop a new technology that I have applied in this selection of paintings, especially the modern series.
The new process is a combination between Tiffany type techniques, used in stained glass that creates incredible color effects, molecular bondage and color stabilization and a new technique that I call, electro - magnetic polarization. Technically, each of these paintings is impossible to replicate. This new "soft ceramic" product is super stable, long lasting and will infinitely hold true color vibrancy, even with changes in atmospheric conditions.
