In Israel, we walk upon the earth, which is permeated with the nonmaterial radiance. This shine is the source of boundless energy, which saturates my soul.
I began to bring some of this shining matter to my studio. I did not want to paint any longer. I had this shining matter in my hands, and all I needed was to make a proper motion. I began to scatter the earth over my canvases, attempting to reveal this nonmaterial radiance. Thus Israeli earth gave birth to my new works.
There is nothing irregular about earth on canvas, since from the ancient times and up today artists use color earths as pigments for painting. Such pigments are durable and resistant to exposure and light. Often they are named from their places of origin, e.g., natural Siena, natural Umbra, Feodosiya brown, English red, etc. And the names of my colors are: Newe-Yaqov red, Pisgat-Zeev golden, Ma’ale-Adumim ochre, Eilat black. As a rule, pigments are crumbled and mixed with various binders.
Unlike other artists, I use “straight materials”, revealing their original structure. I do not use sands as either foreign matter (Braque defined such technique as “the utilization of material substance”) or relief-forming materials (according to Dubouffet). My goal is to make the earth to be heard, to transform it from the material substance into the nonmaterial one. Hence is the absolute minimalism of my compositions.
Galina Bleikh                                See the Gallery>