Genesis | בראשית Painting

Artist: Domy Reiter- Soffer Year: 2011 Edition size: The Edition is limited to 20 sets: 10 in classical blue box and 10 in a modern stylistic Box. Place of Production: Jerusalem Fine Art Prints, Jerusalem, Israel Case Size: 32.5”x24.5”x1.6” (82.5x62.5x3.2cm) Page Size: 31.5”x23.1” (80x60cm) Number of Pages: A Portfolio of ten prints Signed and numbered by the artist Print Technology: Printed under the Digigraphy standard – Museum and Archives quality. Paper: Printed on Arches Rives 310gr. Paper Binding: Hand bound with quality materials. Description: The prints in the “Genesis Portfolio” represent landscapes of various sites in Israel. Through these works, I have tried to create a sense of atmosphere and movement which expose my inner perceptions of the subject. The colors I have chosen depict the essence of what I see. “To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3, 1.) The prints in the “Genesis Portfolio” represent landscapes of various sites in Israel. Through these works, I have tried to create a sense of atmosphere and movement which expose my inner perceptions of the subject. The colors I have chosen depict the essence of what I see. I respond to nature in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it may spark a sense of empathy in me; or I may feel that I am losing myself in the scenery; or, I may identify with it on an abstract level. Nature, as a result, becomes the foundation of the entire painting. Every day is a new experience, and no day resembles another. When the light changes, the same landscape looks different than it did earlier that day, or even a second ago, reflecting the mood or the light we are in. Just as moods or the light change, so does the spectrum of our perceptions; a particular mood in a particular moment might determine how we see, conceive and experience our surroundings. I do not presume to portray an exact representation of the landscape in my prints; I merely try to show and describe the emotional color and the essence of what I see, the hidden elements of the places, and the substance of the landscape from different angles. This documentation reflects the beauty and the power that unfolds in front of me, and its historical characteristics. Each landscape symbolizes an integral component of the emotional journey that I experienced while creating them. These visual “poems” have given me inspiration and the desire to immortalize them, not only in color but also in words. Domy Reiter- Soffer Tel Aviv 2011 Domy Reiter-Soffer — A Multifaceted Artist Domy Reiter-Soffer is a creative person, who gives “Gestalt” to visions of his mind and imagination in a variety of artistic forms, such as painting, sculpture, theater, décor, music and choreography. With a multifaceted personality, Reiter-Soffer is a genius possessing more than one talent who is not limited to one form of artistic expression. Creativity in all its phases, forms and stages is Reiter-Soffer’s greatest marvel, as it has been for man throughout history. It is a spark filched from the Creator, who bestowed upon Reiter-Soffer powers denied many others, and instilled him with the consciousness of being apart. Any creatively gifted person has various degrees of talent, but true genius is completely imbued with talent. The world of art has a tendency to produce creative individuals who are at once heirs to all that has come before them and at the same time in revolt against their immediate predecessors. Reiter-Soffer is an artist who respects new modes, conversing both with his contemporaries and with those who will come in the future. His paintings are full of dramatic expression; he uses color with great expertise in order to convey the very essence of a subject. Domy Reiter-Soffer is a Renaissance man with a wide spectrum of art and achievements. He has exhibited throughout the world to great acclaim, and his works adorn many international collections, spanning from North America to Australia. Dr. Miriam Orr Doctor of Arts and Sciences Lecturer at Tel Aviv University, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Author, specializing in art “Every work of art is contemporary and many times it is the mother of our feelings” Vassily Kandinsky For most of his life, Domy Reiter-Soffer has been a creator. His main creative focus has been in the plastic arts as well as in theater. Both of his loves live happily together; they even seem to complement each other and are, in fact, even connected. Theater is an art of movement, of something that is alive and moving every moment. Painting is a two-dimensional art that no one is able, apparently, to invest with real activity. But when we look at Reiter-Soffer’s paintings, it seems that we need to use all our senses, since he paints life, building a story, not a single scene. His landscapes and characters seem to burst out from the canvas, giving the viewer a very strong sensual experience. In his latest series of works, he mainly paints Israeli landscapes. These landscapes are neither naturalist nor realist. In both his painting and his theater work, Reiter-Soffer is not interested in depicting reality. Instead, he is intent on sharing the experience of a place; the feelings that certain sites evoke in him; the sense of what is hiding behind a tree, a flower, a field and the sky. His renderings of the desert, fields and woods, are not depicted as landscapes of things external, but as fantastic landscapes in which he employs strong colors that seem to reflect the soul. Thus, in the print “Yot’veta” the sense of “woodland” is just hinted at by a tree-top and a stem-like tree trunk, similar to the kibbutz landscapes that slowly turn into geometric shapes. The main power of the landscape comes across in the colorfulness of the red-brown of “mother earth” into which Reiter-Soffer throws green spots that create a sense of drama within the general monochrome. The power is enhanced by the strong brushstrokes that look as if they were put on the canvas with a wiper. These make the landscape fascinating, creating the sense that there is a lot taking place in it. In another print, “Desert-Marble Pillars in Nahal Tzin”, Reiter-Soffer does not use sandy coloring, but instead employs a yellowish hue that he interweaves with browns, orange, reds and greens. Thus, he creates a desert flora that cannot be identified botanically, but which gives the impression that the viewer is surrounded by floral creatures that seem to be dancing to the sounds of the desert wind. These feelings are enhanced by the unique new techniques of applying the colors layer upon layer. The layers seem to cover and uncover at the same time, producing fascinating textures that are dotted, striped and shimmering, and which create a feeling of movement. In the print “The Crater”, the yellow-orange coloring, the stormy brush strokes, and the fluidity of the color create a feeling of a truly primeval sight. There is no doubt that something is being created here. In “Autumn in the Golan”, we witness the autumnal storm of colors (which in the local reality rarely occurs). Purples, blues, yellows and pinks, combine to create a colorful plethora of shapes that enables the viewer to feel the delight of autumn’s unique coloration, even as it is mixed with some sadness. Once again, there is no attempt to imitate nature; rather, the intent is to feel what it does emotionally to people. There is no doubt that Reiter-Soffer’s art is symbolic art. He has studied psychology, and it seems that it has percolated into his paintings and dances. Reiter-Soffer was a student of Yossi Stern, John Paddy Carstairs, and the British painter Francis Bacon. Although most of Reiter-Soffer’s work in the last few years deals with landscapes and not the human body, Bacon’s influence on his style clearly can be seen. The expressive-symbolic style used by Reiter-Soffer, the use of strong and daring coloration, the brush strokes that show the imprint of the artist’s hand, are all the results of Bacon’s influence. Just like Bacon, it would seem that Reiter-Soffer thoroughly researches his subject in order to unlock the substance of the landscapes he paints. In the “Crater”, for example, Reiter-Soffer spent five days in the desert, so he could feel the environment, study the flora and fauna, internalize the amazing feeling of infinity, soak in its exceptional sandy colorfulness, smell its special scents, and perhaps even feel the godhead and the natural powers of the desert that cannot really be defined. He worked extensively on the print “Genesis” in order to create the feeling of something that is here, but not really; a landscape that combines reality and imagination, the concrete and the dream-like. There is no doubt that Reiter-Soffer has a unique style and technique. He builds his works from many layers of color, thereby creating the special light that seems to shine from the depths of the print. He does not work exclusively with brushes; he also uses his fingers as means of expression, as he wants to feel the things in a tactile manner. This gives the impression that some of the objects are sculpted onto the painting. Reiter-Soffer does not seem to be in a hurry to finish his works; perhaps that is the reason that he builds them with innumerable layers, attempting to penetrate deeply, to discover the secret places of the soul. The famous American painter Arshile Gorky once said: “I never finish a painting; I love painting because the painting never reaches its end”. It would seem that Domy Reiter-Soffer’s paintings are reaching out to the infinity that lurks somewhere in the depths of the soul of each of us. Miri Krymolowski, Art curator; lecturer; and art critic, Voice of Israel Tel Aviv 2011

Painting:other on Other

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:0.4 W x 0.4 H x 1 D in

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