Artist’s Statement

[Nira Chorev]

My new artwork is an examination of life cycles, of old and new, of memory and creation. Using my photographs as the “memory” I work with pastels to create new landscapes that both intrigue and excite me.  The materials provide endless options for exploration into the theme of memory and creation.

 

Combining these materials has created an opportunity to go deeper into my subject matter.  I used to paint trees or rocks as part of a larger landscape; now I look at the bark of the tree or the crevice in the rock as having a landscape all its own. The journey the viewer and I take with these pieces is an exploration of the interplay of light and dark in a wave, a contemplation of the colors in a single piece of a rock, and a consideration of the texture of tree bark as its lines flow into the sand, seaweed or water.

 

By turning my focus to the geometric shapes in each element, my compositions show where the shapes oppose, then unite with each other.  It is my desire to give the viewer the experience of an intimate look at one small aspect of nature as a separate entity that ultimately forms a connection with the larger universe.

 

 

“Man is only a small piece of land

Man is nothing but his native landscape form

Just what the ear absorbed is still fresh

Just what the eye absorbed is not enough……..”

 

Shaul Tchernichowsky (1875-1943/ Hebrew poet)