Eduard Steinberg is a Russian painter, philosopher and activist, one of the most well-known representatives of the second generation of the Russian avant-garde. His father, the poet, literary translator and artist Arkady Steinberg was arrested and exiled to the Gulag shortly after his birth. Steinberg never received formal art education; he learned to paint by himself and with the guidance of his father. In 1962 he moved to Moscow and became an active member of the circle of nonconformist artists. His unique geometric style developed in the 1970s, with roots in Russian avant-garde. He describes his associations relating to the black square in a letter to “K.S.” (Kazimir Malevich) from 1981: “God is dead – says Europe. This is the time of God-forsakenness – says Russia. I think the black rectangle is the ultimate God-forsakenness, expressed through artistic media. […] It is obvious that you were also born to remind the world of the language of geometry, which is suitable for expressing tragic muteness. The language of Pythagoras, Plato, Plotin, of the early Christian catacombs. For me, this language is no universe, but it contains a yearning for truth and transcendence and a certain affinity with apophantic theology.” The painting entitled Composition from 1979 is also kind of “melancholy memento” of the avant-garde: the strong contrasts and vivid colours are humbled here into fine shades. The geometric elements appear in the composition resembling a landscape as symbols of real shapes. In the early 1990s Steinberg first moved to Munich, then to Paris, where he died in 2012.
