To be and remain free, consistent and focused, both in life and in creativity and art, is the guiding principle of the renowned artist from Germany. Liver Nojmana, one of the most important representatives of contemporary figurative painting.
His figures, portraits, dark silhouettes, collages... each of his works represents traces of the inner states of man, the world and life, and the images are felt more than explained - and that is the only way to present them. The artist himself admits in an interview with "Vijesti" that visual language is his primary way of communicating with the world.
"Very early in my life, I started making art and creating artwork. And so art became a major part of my life. That's why my works convey much more than my words. I say it better with them than I can speak," Neuman says at the beginning.
This inability, perhaps even refusal, to fully translate one's work into language and words does not represent weakness or a lack of clarity, but the essence of the artistic process, emotion, and creation.
“Maybe it’s a little bit of a problem if you’re into this kind of art,” Neuman adds with a gentle smile, aware that artists are often expected to interpret what they’ve already said with their paintings… However, the communication with the viewer is very lively and sumptuous, thanks to his works. Visitors to his exhibition “Gegenfrage” (Counter-Question), which is open at the Gallery of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro (MSUCG), and whose curator is Natalija Đuranović.
Neuman's first presentation in Montenegro shows representative works from his long-standing opus, and his characters seem to exist in the gallery space. The most vivid of all are the faces and people that Neuman depicts, which are often experienced and interpreted as shadows - portraits of a modern man - any, anonymous, universal, lost in the crowd... The author distances himself from the idea of a specific character, emphasizing that each of the portraits is actually an expression of a state - internal, conscious, unconscious, subconscious...
"These are not portraits of specific people, nor have they ever been. When I work on a head or a face, what I'm trying to do is find an expression. It's hard to translate it into words, language, and speech. In fact, everything I have to say is already in my work and in your impression," he explains.
In this relationship between the work and the viewer, Neumann sees space for true communication, one that does not depend on the author's explanation or the analysis and theory of the profession, but on the audience's willingness to confront their own feelings and thoughts.
On the other hand, he speaks more openly and openly about his smaller-format collages. They, he reveals, were born out of a fascination with visual material from the early 1960s.
"I can already say a little more about them (the collages). They are made up of photographs that come from magazines from the early 60s. There were hundreds of those magazines with incredible photographs and texts - of course, with all the accompanying lies of that time. That was fascinating to me and that encouraged me," says Neuman, whose collages really should be experienced as an experience, because, although made up of media material that is more than half a century old, much of it seems as if it is from yesterday, today or tomorrow.
An entire cycle of works emerged from the archives of visual and ideological history, the testimony of time and social circumstances.
"Only a small part of the series of collages that I started making under the influence of inspiration was presented in Podgorica. I probably have about a hundred of them," says Neuman.
His collages do not evoke nostalgia or romanticize the past, but rather dissect and reassemble it, without illusions or direct judgment. Thus, his work can easily be read as socio-politically engaged or at least current. But that is what the artist's art and vision actually are in themselves, not Neumann's commentary. Thus, although Neumann's works are often explained and experienced through a sociopolitical lens, the artist insists on distance from everyday politics and activist messages.
"When I work, I try to stay away from everything that's going on around me. I try to concentrate only on what I'm doing, on art. So, my works are not a commentary," he points out in an interview with "Vijesti" and further adds:
"I don't talk about daily politics through my art, let alone express my opinion through my works, like about Trump, this and that. I also think that from an artistic perspective, it's not interesting what I think about certain things, events and people... What should be in focus, and therefore interesting, is the question of whether I can create and present an image that the audience will say: 'Okay, I can relate to this, this encourages me to think and feel emotions'," the artist explains the motives and goal of his work.
On the other hand, he is aware that the contemporary art scene is increasingly reaching for a clear social and political engagement. Neumann follows this, but does not identify with this approach, nor does he aspire to it - art speaks for itself.
"During my stay in Podgorica, I saw a very interesting exhibition in another space of the MSUCG, in the Petrović Palace, in the park. That exhibition is really very interesting and I was interested in seeing it, but it's simply not my thing. I belong to the second generation. I simply feel that I have to stay with myself and be what I feel I am. I definitely follow this new, contemporary and modern art. There are really interesting things, I confirm, but it's still not something that is my style or way," he says.
Determined in his consistency, the handwriting and poetics he has built and by which he is distinctive and strong, he emphasizes and reminds us of the importance and necessity of one element.
"You know, many writers get up very early in the morning, some even at dawn, at four or five o'clock, and then they stop working at ten, when some actually wake up. That time they have is the time when the world doesn't get to them, that is, when they have their own peace. Then they are free to do and write what they really think and want, without surrounding distractions, influences or anything. It's the same with me, although I don't get up very early in the morning, but I need the same thing as them - to be free and focused," he says about the work process, drawing a parallel with writers who create in silence, far from the outside world.
In that space between silence and concentration, without clear slogans and direct messages, art emerges that encourages reflection, knowledge, and poses questions that are hard to look away from. And freedom, in its absoluteness and at the same time relativity, becomes a leitmotif and a concept that runs through his entire work, as well as his philosophy of life.
"Freedom is the most important thing in the world, absolutely. But, unfortunately, it is also the most fragile and easily threatened. That is why it needs to be especially protected and conquered," Neuman concludes.
The most important is the current exhibition, as well as the one that is yet to come.
The exhibition in Podgorica was realized in cooperation with the “Puzić” gallery and gallerist Esad Puzić, and is open to visitors until March 17. It is a retrospective exhibition by Max Neumann, which was originally conceived and presented at the “Puzić” gallery, and is being realized as an international project and symbolically connects two countries - Montenegro and Germany.
"For me, the most important exhibition is the one that is currently ongoing, the one that is open, as well as the next exhibition that will be held," Neuman says with a smile in an interview for "Vijesti", reflecting on his rich career and the numerous exhibitions he has had around the world.
At the opening, the artist expressed his gratitude to the team of the Museum of Contemporary Art for organizing and producing the exhibition, expressing great pleasure at presenting himself to the Montenegrin public for the first time. On that occasion, he also revealed that he quite liked the concept of the exhibition, and that he himself was impressed and quite surprised by certain curatorial solutions that he would not have implemented himself, but which contributed to the concept.
Through a detailed analysis of Neumann's work and the exhibition itself, Đuranović approached the artist's works through her own reading, emphasizing that the author builds atmospheric and enigmatic scenes in which the human figure becomes the bearer of a universal existential experience.
“He believes that a painting can exist as an autonomous work of art with its own life and meaning that is not necessarily tied to an external context. The painting itself deals with the issue of visual expression and perception, the paintings are created through an intense and deliberate process, and the meaning arises from the form, not from biography or emotions,” said Đuranović.
She stated that Neumann's painting does not narrate, but evokes, and that his paintings do not offer ready-made meanings, but invite the viewer to personal interpretation and inner dialogue.
"With this exhibition, the MSUCG is further enriching its artistic program, while simultaneously encouraging reflection on contemporary existential issues of a universal character. We invite you to explore this exhibition through your own personal experience and to find your own meanings and reflections in the subtlety of Neumann's paintings," said Đuranović.
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