Leonardo Nierman

Leonardo Nierman Mendelejis (November 1 1932 – June 7 2023) was 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 had had exhibitions in Mexico and abroad and over sixty recognitions of his work, half of which are from outside 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 Ángeles testigos de la Beatificación de Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, a sculpture commemorating the beatification of Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, in the city of Puebla, Mexico. Leonardo Nierman Mendelejis was born in Mexico City on 1 November 1932. He was the only child of Lithuanian Jewish parents 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 Ukraine, both poor. The two met in Mexico. In 1953, he studied the psychology of color and form in static and moving bodies. He also began spending large amounts of time in museums.

Career Nierman began his career painting when he convinced the dean of the business school where he was a student, to paint a mural at the department's auditorium in 1956. To paint the mural, he made an appointment with David Alfaro Siqueiros to ask for advice, receiving such especially the mixing of colors. The mural was later destroyed when the wall was taken down. More recent exhibitions include the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila in 2000, the MACAY museum in Mérida in 2012, and the art gallery of the Complejo Cultural Universitario in the city of Puebla in 2012.

His work can be found in museums and public buildings in Australia, Austria, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States, Spain, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Panama, Sweden and Thailand. the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, The Art Modern Gallery of New York and Phoenix Art Museum.

His monumental works can be found in many of Mexico's major cities and abroad. In 1969 he painted a mural for the physics department at Princeton as well as designed the stained glass windows for Temple Beth Israel in Lomas de Chapultepec.

In 1997 he created a limited edition postage stamp for the Mexican postal service. In 1993, he became a patron of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in London. UNAM named a classroom designed for cultural activities after the painter in 2011.

Artistry His artistic production includes painting, tapestry design, sculpture, murals, engraving and glass work. The other major influence has been his musical background. These often contain elements such as birds, angels, archangels, winged victories, flames, and musical instruments. His metal sculptures evoke movement and harmony usually through the use of spirals.