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A young man stands in front of a still life depicting sliced pomegranates

Pavel Feinstein

Paintings

An exhibition organized by the Jewish Museum Berlin and the Jewish Cultural Festival Berlin

Pavel Feinstein was born in Moscow in 1960 and grew up in Dushanbe in Tajikistan where he attended art school. He moved to Berlin in 1980 where he continued his studies at the Hochschule der Kuenste (art college).

Past exhibition

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The Old Building is marked in green

Where

Old Building, level 1
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin

Feinstein’s works are difficult to classify according to a contemporary art movement or school of art. They conform to the genres handed down throughout the history of art - still life, group and biblical scenes; they are representational and are painted, as tradition would dictate, in oil.

However, the content of Pavel Feinstein’s paintings circumvents these traditions and reinterprets them: irritating details are added to the familiar still-life inventory, alternative versions to well-known biblical stories are proposed. The people he paints, who play on stereotypical Jewish characters, live in a world which vacillates between humor and terror. A subversive game involving Jewish traditions, the conventions of painting, and the expectations of the observer is embarked upon.

Exhibition Information at a Glance

  • When 15 Nov 2002 to 12 Jan 2003
  • Where Old Building, level 1
    Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
    See location on map
The painting shows a naked man from behind, in the hand of his outstretched arm he is holding a glass of wine. He is standing in front of a bare-breasted, smiling woman, on the left side of the picture is a billy goat.

Pavel Feinstein, Jacob und Leah (Jacob and Leah), 1996; Jewish Museum Berlin, accession 2001/15/1, purchased with funds provided by Kultur-Stiftung der Deutschen Bank, photo: Jens Ziehe.

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