ART Habens
Maya Gelfman
You said it well , art as a key to find personal interpretations . I perceive myself as a channel . I tap into the creative energy that was here long before me and will flow on long after I ' m gone . I really do feel privileged and blessed by this open connection to the marrow of subconsciousness . I perceive my works as a testimony of my experiences , whether first-hand or cultural . In a sense , I believe that a good work of art is much bigger than the artist that makes it . Of course there is a direct reflection of my own expansion in my work , but it ' s just the beginning of a story and not the whole of it .
Art changes and evolves . While being " in progress ", it ' s in the artist ' s territory . But once accomplished , it stands out in its own right and it ' s up to the work to establish meaningful interactions with its surroundings . I always leave spaces for others to fill . My works are not hermetically sealed . On the contrary - they aim to be extended and amplified .
So naturally I also don ' t see it as a conflict relationship between content and form , but rather as an interlaced network in which every movement or intention , both physical and metaphysical , leaves an impression and dictates a certain narrative and atmosphere . I use aesthetics to lure the viewers and sooth first reactions , in order to reveal a deeper meaning that might be perceived as deterring otherwise . But I never aim for shock value just for it ' s own sake . Acknowledging the complexity is a path to finding catharsis . In my early drawings , which I did in the years after my graduation , the color scheme was naive and minimalist ( mind you that as a student I was " all over the place " when it came to colors and materials ). At the time I felt that I could make up an entire universe with a pencil and a red pen . And so I did , in a subtle yet disturbing way , I drew figures and situations floating in white space .
With time , layers appeared and my drawing became increasingly obsessive . The bare color pallet gained some flesh as I struggled to weave together past , present and future . It was a time that I plunged head first into a personal abyss , mapping my journey and examining the findings , so to make some sense of it all . I started using mixed media again . The red , white and grayish lead were accompanied by black , gold , silver and fluorescent yellow . I used thread with which I meticulously embroidered thin papers , cut outs made with aluminum foil and parchment , and so on . I wanted it to appear as a drawing at first glance but the longer one looked at it , the mixed media , bits and pieces were exposed .
The series that was created that way is the one I ' ve referred to in the last paragraph . Large , colorful and expressive paintings , made in broad gestures and overlapping layers . In their making I sought to break free from familiar patterns and push beyond my comfort zone . This series has basically two ground rules :
. Each work is limited to one continuous session . That is a period of designated time , ranging from one to several days and nights , during which I keep as much as possible within the domain and the mindset of the work . If it doesn ' t feel finished after a session , I put it aside and move on .
. Like meditating , I let all that comes be and become . Automatism and scrutiny - I observe , think , feel and sense , but I don ' t dwell on either . Most importantly , I don ' t stop painting to give any of them time enough to mature and take over the wheel . Instead , I gather them all onto the paper and continue to work without making order of things . The painting is the one that leads the way as it developes .
I other words , I immerse myself completely in a meditative process of laying out layers , while keeping explicit analysis at a hands reach , just hanging a few inches above the canvas . There is a clear general connection between the new and previous works . The " handwriting " is recognizable
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