Oil on canvas
40 x 29 inches
Leonid Lamm was born in Moscow in 1928. In 1953 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Architecture, where he studied under Yakov Chernykhov, one of the most outstanding architects and theorists of the Russian avant-garde. While still a student, Lamm explored the relationship between the psychological state of an individual and his or her surrounding space and the interaction of the social and domestic space. After graduation he worked in book illustration, transforming books into a conceptual object. In 1957 he was awarded a silver medal at the Leipzig book fair.
Lamm is one of the pioneers of Moscow nonconformist culture. His objects and assemblages deeply influenced many directions of the underground’s development. From the late 1950s Lamm pursued the projects he had started during his studies and founded the «biomorphism» movement, combining elements of the surrealist tradition with the geometric abstraction of Russian avant-garde.
In 1982 he emigrated to New York, where he joined the Sots Art movement, manipulating for his work the language of Soviet architecture and Soviet poster symbolism. He became active in the artistic community of New York. He has participated in more than a hundred exhibitions, and his works can be found at museums such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, and many others. One of his latest exhibitions took place at the Jewish Museum. Lamm continues to live and work in New York City.