ARTICLES - מאמרים
A Moment of Bliss
Liora Kanterewicz's exhibition "A Moment of Bliss" focuses on present experiences, on observation of that which stands before us in the current moment. The works engage neither with memories which represent the past, nor with passions which represent the present, but rather with depletion as a mental state, with moments in which the mind is emptied of thought, moments in which we experience spiritual fulfillment.
Liora Kanterewicz's exhibition "A Moment of Bliss" focuses on present experiences, on observation of that which stands before us in the current moment. The works engage neither with memories which represent the past, nor with passions which represent the present, but rather with depletion as a mental state, with moments in which the mind is emptied of thought, moments in which we experience spiritual fulfillment.
In a series of paintings addressing play, Kanterewicz portrays moments of activity in the company of children. The past and the future are of less concern to the child who lives in the present and thinks in the future's short term. In his book Conversations with Children, R.D. Laing maintains that the time he spent in the company of children offered him a playful timeout, short-lived and brief yet invaluable, from "being adult." In Kanterewicz's paintings too, the adult acts as a child. This reference to the need in clearing thought from the mind and focusing one's energies is also discernible in a group of paintings depicting physical activity.
The sculptural hammock piece, made of a weave of pipes and tubes, intertwined with medical accessories—butterfly needles from which black fluid drips—alludes to infancy by virtue of the rocking movement. The work originated in pain, which gave rise to an aesthetic work. The drips are color drippings of paint invoking meditative observation. The purple color of the lower legs in the hammock painting correspond with the tubes, as if implying some sort of disturbance that must be handled. Like the former hammock piece, the painting also conveys meditative observation of nature, and the yearning to find balance is articulated by the tree trunk located at the heart of the composition.
In the soap bubbles installation Kanterewicz inserted pigment into the bubbles. When the bubble bursts, it leaves a color stain behind. The idea of emptying to refill resurfaces in this work, as a paint which runs out gives way to a differently-colored new one.
The yellow ball is made with wooden construction built by the artist and covered with soft, bright material by scrupulous manual labor. Unlike earlier sculptures in which the covering was perfect, here, for the first time, Kanterewicz leaves a hole which allows a peek into the sculpture's "entrails," thereby exposing the process of its making. In the context of the current exhibition, this aperture represents a gap, the gap between thoughts. It is a void of aesthetic value, as described by Yoshida Kenkō in Essays in Idleness (1330): "Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom, the moon only when it is cloudless? … Branches about to blossom or gardens strewn with faded flowers are worthier of our admiration." The yellow sculpture appears in the process of evolution, possibly withering.
The hole in the mouse's universe is the safe hideaway; here the wall is secondary and the hole is the gist. The Mickey Mouse sculptures made of concrete elicit empathy which may be accounted for by Stephen Jay Gould's assertions in "A Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse" (in his The Panda's Thumb, 1980), that Mickey began as rat-like, and became gradually juvenile in appearance, with eyes, forehead, ears and head enlarged in comparison to other bodily organs, much like a human baby, an appearance which triggers maternal feelings in adults.
In its attempt to find a balance between thoughts and liberation thereof, this dog-bird hybrid encapsulates the essence of the exhibition.
Curator: Revital Silverman-Grun
Curator: Revital Silverman-Grun
Send
THANK YOU!
Your message has been successfully sent
Your message has been successfully sent
For More Inquiries
* This field is required.
* This field is required.
* This field is required.