Leonardo Nierman

Leonardo Nierman (born November 1, 1932), full name Leonardo Nierman Mendelejis, is a Mexican artist mostly known for his painting and sculpture. He at first wanted to be a violinist, but gave it up after twenty years when he compared a recording of his playing with that of Yehudi Menuhin. However, his musical training has been a major influence on his painting and sculpture, reproducing movement and harmony as Nierman sees similarities between the two disciplines. Nierman has had exhibitions in Mexico and abroad and over sixty recognitions of his work, half of which are from outside of Mexico. His work is abstract but still with discernible images from nature such as birds, water, lightning and more. His paintings are in pure colors while his sculptures are generally of metal, often silver-toned.

Life

Leonardo Nierman Mendelejis was born in Mexico City on November 1, 1932. He is the only child of Clara Mendelejis, a bakery worker and Chanel Nierman, a bus inspector who later started a small jacket factory. Nierman’s parents arrived to Mexico in the mid 1920s, his father from Lithuania and his mother from the Ukraine both poor. The two met in Mexico.