CHARCOAL & CHLOROPHYLL
CHARCOAL & CHLOROPHYLL | GROUP EXHIBITION
16 MAY- 05 JULY 2024
The relationship between mankind and the natural world has always been complex, marked by moments of harmony and discord, cooperation and exploitation. Over the centuries, Art has documented social and ideological changes which, in turn, influenced human connection with nature.
After the Second World War, artists questioned man's relationship with his environment.
In the 60s, the Land Art approach in the US reasserted the harmonious interaction between art and nature - through the works of artists like Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt or Michael Heizer – which emphasized site-specific context and focused on the use of natural materials such as wood, earth, sand or stones. This new way of thinking led to ecological and environmental awareness and commitment and inspired new generation of artists.
This exhibition addresses the relationship between nature and man through the works of local and international contemporary artists, offering diverse perspectives and interpretations and inviting viewers to reflect on their own connection to the environment.
Dutch-Israeli artist Bianca Severijns is inspired by the resilience of Nature and wild life and its capacity to evolve and adapt to human development. Through her conceptual artworks made of torn paper she creates imaginary and symbolic landscapes where Nature finds its way to coexists next to human design and urbanization, reflecting with hope on Nature guidance and survival.
Evgeny Merman symbolic works refer to the Seasons natural rhythm as well as man connection to spirituality. Trees are recurrent mystical motifs in mythologies and religion: trees being often represented as a symbol of life and of the Universe. His oil paintings are made on raw canvas, using charcoal and color pigments.
Tova Pesah works from her series Evergreen focus on the relationship between man and the ecology. Her paintings portray plants originated from tropical forests that have undergone domestication, so that today they can be found in homes all over the world.
Chinese photographer Ziqian Liu often combines self-portrait with plants, flowers and mirror images, constantly exploring the thematic of symbiosis with nature. Through her minimalist photography, she evokes a state of peaceful harmony and coexistence between humans and nature.
American artist Trina Merry combines body painting and photography in her site-specific approach, exploring ephemerality through human identity and its connection to the environment. By ingeniously weaving the human body into the fabric of landscapes, architecture, and cultural symbols, Merry demonstrates the intrinsic bond between humanity and its surroundings.
The thematic of place is central to Anat Rozenson's painting, through her depiction of outdoor and indoor spaces both in relation to nature and society. Her imagery seems to flow between flatness and depth, producing a new narrative of the places and challenging the conventional distinction between what is essential and what is not.
In her Soft Vitrage series, Suly Bornstein reused and recycled her nature paintings to tell a new story, creating colorful compositions challenging present consumerism. Her three-dimensional collage works which are reminiscent of traditional rosette stained glassed windows are made of hundreds of canvas cutout in the shape of small leave.
Gustavo Bar Valenzuela paintings invite us to reflect on global environmental challenges and particularly on global paper waste – pointing out symbolically the omnipresent use of paper in our daily life and its dramatic yet often overlooked impact on the environment.