Now on view at Wertheimer Gallery
New Totems and Other Sleeping Gods | Group Exhibition | 22.02- 30.04.2024
Suly Bornstein Wolff, Philippe Boulakia, Israel Cohen, Elsa Ers Brosh, Ziqian Liu, Jessica
Moritz, Daniel Remer, Dubi Ronen, Beenee See, Hen Songo, Miguel Vallinas Prieto
Light Waves II
Light is a wave. A fast shortcut that you can understand how it started and where we are heading.
in my daily practice of light observation, I have noticed how it influenced the way I paint or the colors I create. So I came back to drawing to do a reset and base my observation on shapes only.
As I was expanding the shapes research, I started to draw shapes that would reflect more accurately the different forms that light can have.
Physics and studies helped me to find the different shapes according to context then came symbolism and my own experience with light(s).
As some of you may know, we live in the darkest time of humanity. Whether you live in it or witness it from any part of the world, instinctively we all seek hope.
In trouble time, I look at physics books. I cannot scale the issues we experience in a formula but I see them as an open equation. Therefore, my paintings are the translations of these theories about light or hope, where for one second, the time being, working on it, we all can have an impression where a theory is solved and light comes through.
The illusion and irregular shapes expand the painting to an irregular approach to what we assume of Painting.
Being able to create rhythm with shapes and then colors gave me a new freedom in the way I even started thinking about painting.
The gradients are an expression of salvation in these utopian theories, where light becomes harmony in chaos.
The solace may go a long way to a short relief, until a new vision comes and invites us to ride again.
Let it be quantum of solace for us all.
Light waves,
pigments and acrylic on canvas, structure wood, plywood, and MDF
89 X 158 X 10
2024
Eyes Wide Shut
The visual field of the human eye spans approximately 120 degrees of Arc. However, most of that arc is a peripherical vision.
Geometry is a bunch of lines meeting in a fortunate way, right?
Let's say that some harmonies are geometry that went to the right place at the right time.
I always enjoy thinking about Pythagore and the many discoveries he made. One of them is about triangles and angles
a2 + b2 = c2
From that formula, A diamond shape came to my vision, break it and then created a palindrome within, and then shift the shape slightly.
The fun part of thinking about a new painting lies in the challenge-research. If I knew from the beginning it would fit, there wouldn't be any point in going further.
Reducing the shape as minimal as it can be to create perspective to re-think shapes and how we relate to them.
let's take this angle, play with it, and twist that thought into a shape. The concept of seeing and understanding the vision is underrated.
We, wrongfully- think we always have a full vision of
one picture because we rely on that good old saying "What you see is what you get", But is it?
Over centuries of physics, experiences, and mistakes, we discovered new perspectives and angles that we thought were mysteries, legends, or unknown; Until someone investigated.
I do believe there is some correlation in The Art field in that sense.
As much as a square is satisfying to contemplate, having equal sides, being so stable and fitting anywhere; It fails to complete the extension of our ability to see in a physical sense.
This painting is another eye gymnastic exercise to question both the physical intention of seeing and what Painting can be.
The experience of understanding one shape reveals singular/ personal boundaries we all have surrounding both (intentionally or not)
Once passed this experience, the viewer can conclude his/her understanding and start the real work of questioning everything.
Last, Keeping up with the light and standing in the shadow hours when it's neither day nor night.
where the sun is hidden, coming or leaving, Vesper is here. In between two moments of time, still intangible.
A moment of muted light that belongs to the path of transformation.
The irony of these bits of time is that no one notices them until they are gone. They are like an extra in the movie, giving context and presence for the light to see.
pigments and acrylic on canvas, structure wood and MDF,
90 X 116 X 11
2024
Fahrenheit, pyramid, something's gotta give
We all look up, for elevation, hope, and physical reflex.might seem automatic, but we all wish to rise above. to find the essence of things; energy, wealth, health, and all that can make us greater. But are we really seeing it or is it even reachable? or is it an illusion? how so?
I was thinking about this perspective of good, in the Art form, and realized that we, Artists; are lucky to create our Oasis, the illusion of a good place, or that state of fulfillment in our Art. We display harmony in chaos, for centuries, for Us, and the viewer.
A beautiful, disillusional dystopian universe where you visit, take a breath and come back to reality.In this work, a square pyramid, made of reclaimed wood, MDF, and found materials, I started by thinking of the outside perception.
What kind of mirage I wish we could visit today, what kind of feeling I was looking to reach, and the distance.
Again, I came back to the Dawn, this moment of hope, exhilaration, and distraught at the same time. what has been done, cannot be undone, what has been silenced cannot be said, what you did or didn't is already gone. we all have that feeling, right?
I have taken pictures, collected in a way, sky or space pictures in that sense. the momentum of light, consciousness.Even in darkness, there is light. what can seem unreachable is closer than you think, just as in any direction, something's gotta give. disillusion is great, come visit.
Little by Little, I decompose the light, a kind of sky spectrum, into a color palette. And painting layers by Layers, this moment on the pyramid.As if you could visit, be in that moment, and realize it was also yours.
square pyramid with a base,slot in the back to hang with nails or screws depending on the walls can also be standing on a basement display
31X 31 X 24 (cm)pigments and acrylic on reclaimed wood, hand jigsaw
2023
Tel Aviv, Israel
The term “totem” originated in the 'Ojibwe' dialect of North America and can be understood as a reference to “kinship”, “lineage”, “identity”, and so forth. The term gradually gained importance during the 18th century and was exported to describe the same type of human Certain animals and plants were also believed to .animal relationship on other continents share this relationship, and thus their symbols became the national emblem of ethnic groups, known as “totems”.
According to the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, totemism
was a way of naming a fusional relationship with nature. The term has been also evoked to
design a form of collective worship, reinforcing social cohesion and solidarity.
While Totemic art refers to artistic creations that depict or embody symbols of animals or
other natural objects representing the spiritual beliefs and traditions of a community, the
concept of totems gradually emerged in modern and contemporary art in the 20th century.
Examples include: the relationship between Jackson Pollock and primitive religion, the
association between Pablo Picasso and African masks, and the connection between avant-garde futurism and myth. The concept of the totem animal was also embraced by several
surrealists—the fish for Breton, the bird for Max Ernst, the horse for Leonora Carrington, the
dog for Dorothea Tanning.
In a similar view, the artworks presented in this exhibition offer various insights into the art–
religion or sacred relationship in the broadest sense of the term, viewing art as a vehicle for
expressing spiritual dimensions and responding to essential human existential questions.
The works acknowledge duality by reflecting expression of tension between life and death,
between reality and fantasy, between Nature and the supernatural, unveiling a mystical
experience triggered by imagery.
Text: Nathalie Wertheimer
New totems and other sleeping gods on view until 30.04.2024
Visit
8 Kikar Plumer St
Building 36, Tel Aviv Port, Israel
Opening Hours
Sun-Thu | 10.00 am - 06.00 pm
Wed | 10.00 am - 07.00 pm
Fri | 09.30 am - 13.30 pm
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