Shadow

Edith Cohen - Gewerc

Cohen -Gewerc’s work is inspired by ‘Logosophy‘ a philosophical conception of life which is in essence a spiritual research. The aim is to strengthen the human being through an inner process of emancipation from materialism, from ignorance and from the human turmoil. The figures or ‘beings’ are faceless and could belong to the past, the present or the future. The more they are able to release themselves from their attachment to material things, from vanity and meaningless preoccupations, the more transparent they become and float in space. The search for growing and elevation involves a difficult battle with shadows and an under-current which always threatens to pull one into its depths. Cohen-Gewerc’s work can be seen as a self-portrait of her personal development.

 

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 Etti Sharony

Sharony starts work by going out into nature with her camera.
She photographed sunflowers in the southern part of the country on sunny days .Working on these photographs in her studio, the artist creates a series of works that is expressive, stormy and sun-less and which express darkness and shadow. In her work the Sunflower symbolizes the sun and the light, Sharoni confronts it with darkness. The head of the sunflower bows in the same way that humans do after their best years have passed, they are confronted by the burden of their surroundings, by the darkness and the storms before them and those which have passed.

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Barbara Issahary

Through the use of shadow Issahary lessens the realism of her work.
A shadow accompanies a figure radiating loneliness. The figure is not so much an individual, rather a portrait of Everyman, once again taking away from the realism of the work. This is an attempt by the artist to dwell in inner reflection both physically and emotionally and come to terms with a metaphysical essence. The shadow is amorphous and blurred (except for one instance where the shadow is in its expected location ) within the same space the figure and the shadow compete with each other, vying for the viewer’ attention. The division of the canvas into two parts creates a separation between the figure and the shadow. ”As an artist I struggle with the unfamiliar and the unknown.
I believe it is death. Work in the studio is a kind of seclusion –
 to such an extent that at times even the model gets in the way of my thoughts .
The human body intrigues me, fascinates me and every time I look it seems different. For me the shadow is the dark side of each and every one of us, connected to death or some past event and gives meaning to life.”

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Gila Schnell

In her work Schnell conveys her belief that life is a constant meeting with shadows from the past, as well as associations related to life. Her work expresses both these ideas. The materials she uses in her work are zinc sheets processed with acids, scraped scratched and engraved. The metal is hard, forceful and rough, belonging to the past – like shadows of
each of us. On this metal appear motifs which are soft and feminine, and flourishing landscapes which inspire hope.  

Schnell weaves personnel experiences connected to a people,
a place and landscape. Working on the hard, rough, masculine metal Schnell creates poetic original works and from a place of death she moves towards optimism, security and love. 
 

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 Dina Smadar

In her series 'in their shelter' Smadar enlarged old family photographs
which were printed onto canvas and have undergone a process of processing.
These photographs have been partly painted and areas of colour reworked drawing the viewer’s attention and making surprising new connection.
The family gains a unity as the result of this new viewing of the artist’s
past. For example Smadar repaints the table cloth and in this way the artists is given the privilege of intervening in a past she wasn't part of.
These pictures document an era before her time and become
a shadow which envelops her; something to lean on and
console her. 

  

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Hadassa Gorohovski Hadassa Gorohovski is holding an open dialogue with the history of art and at the same time is dealing with concerning issues in the here and now. In this series of works in this exhibition she is corresponding with Van Gogh's famous painting: “The Painter on the Road to Tarascan". For her Van Gogh became a symbol to the suffering artist who lives his art totally. An artist who is carrying an inner pain that accompanies the creative process as a permanent shadow. Her works are a variation on the black shadow that accompanies Van Gogh's image. In each variation, the shadow changes its shape, size, texture and color and so each time carries new meanings. The shadow that usually represents the dark side, the marginal and the unreal, becomes the center of attraction and is the key to understanding of the character.  Back to top

 

Ziv Lenzner

Lenzner presents three works which make up a triptych. He paints
a self portrait a dark and complicated identity which interacts with past genres in Art History.

The triptych is presented in two parts: the lower part of the work shows a self-portrait of the artist while the upper part tells the story of Don Quixote in kind of running motion picture as in early cinema. The story of Don Quixote is presented in a style similar to paper-cuts and is a duplication of the self-portrait which the artist presents in the bottom half of his paintings. In his work Lenzner is showing to the viewer his inner contemplation - the dark side of the moon - and through this triptych, Lenzner allows us to peek into the intimate shadows of his inner thoughts.

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Michal Ashkenazi

The abstract works of Ashkenasi echo political events, Jewish history and the disengagement from the territories, helplessness and a feeling that there is no way out. Shadows of the past and present shadows come together and developed into a kind of echoing tunnel which express feelings of disappointment in the country and keep asking the question: 'what has become of us.”; an expression of hostility and violence between different groups; Arabs and Jews, religious and non-religious, rich and poor, hatred between neighbours and the feeling of living in a ghetto. They are very minimal, multilayered and colourful. Although Ashkenasi’s paintings are abstract, the names she gives the works represent reactions to political events and everyday local hardships:
"Man is a reflection of his surroundings".

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 Nechama Hatarasi

In Hatarsi’s work past biographical events become shadows and through paint she holds a dialogue with painted objects bordering on abstraction.
Her painting comes out of intimate, inner places and does not depend for its meaning on concrete reality.

In this series of 3 works Hatarsi deals with objects in the process of fading. These are paintings which show Israeli local colour:
in every work there is a new use of ochre and sky blue. This is an abstract series which contains the shadow of a floating object and expresses intense personal experiences.





 

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