Volodymyr Naumets is a well-known Odesa artist and writer, painter, author of video art works, performances and actions, one of the first in Ukraine to use the compositions of glowing neon lamps in his installations. Born in Lviv in 1945. Soon his family moved to Odesa, where he graduated from the Odesa Art School. Then he studied at the Moscow Higher Art and Industrial School. He collaborated with groups of unofficial artists of Odesa and Moscow. Being a deeply religious person, he pays special attention to spirituality in modern art. His works are in museums and private collections of different countries. He lives and works in Cologne, Germany.

Volodymyr Naumets was one of the first to perform actionist art in Odesa. The video “Cellophane A” is to some extent a reporting from the action of the same name. The artist, like a shaman or priest, wraps naked models with cellophane and slowly applies paint to the cellophane, following contours of the body. In this way, he aims to reveal an elusive part of human nature, to make it material. Each movement of the brush is accompanied by deep concentration, which emphasizes importance of the artist’s work. At the same time, a saxophone plays nearby to emphasize spirituality of what is happening. Cellophane, with its transparent and flexible texture, is changing under influence of paint, which gradually covers its surface. Chaotic strokes begin to form a certain structure, which reminds abstract forms or even images that arise in our imagination. Then painted pieces of cellophane are stretched over the frame and illuminated from behind.

New works are ready to demonstrate an aura of the models.

The artist creates a new form of life for a piece of simple material, turning it into a carrier of art. It symbolizes transition from everyday to aesthetic.
The process of applying paint to cellophane becomes a metaphor for an attempt to penetrate the essence of a person, to expose his/her “aura” – the tangible layer of energy that surrounds each of us.

Cellophane that wraps the models symbolizes a barrier between an inner world of a person and external environment.
This action questions boundaries between physical and spiritual, emphasizing that an aura is not just a symbol, but a part of reality.