In the solo exhibition entitled “Garden Wall” the artist Yaara Oren displays recent paintings from the past two years, a period in which the artist progressed from figurative toward abstract painting. Oren is inspired by her surroundings; she transforms her familiar environment into basic lines and figures. Her works draw from content whose foundation lies in classical art history, for example, still life, an open window, to name a few, which the artist examines in the context of contemporary painting. Hidden behind the works are unique encounters as they relate to the artist’s personal world.

As implied by the name, “Garden Wall” illustrates the inner mechanism of the painting – some block the vision, while others allow space for reflection. Oren investigates the space between the complete image and its elements and the effect of various methods of observation. The works presented were created from layers, erasure of paint and revealing of color surfaces and forms in a technique that combines oil, acrylic, spray paint and masking tape on canvas. The artist would work on several canvases simultaneously.

The exhibition is accompanied by a text of a conversation between the artist and Yonatan H. Mishal – “Painting is an interesting place to meet oneself, to reflect what composes you and to understand how to construct something with it. It is a source of correction and betterment. This is where I can look at myself and say, ‘Wow what a cheapskate you are for working with the paint you have left on the brush so as not to waste it… but I will find how to utilize it. This is where I can look at myself and my behavior and I am able to operate or to self-examine.” (Yaara Oren, an excerpt from the exhibition text)

Yaara Oren, born in 1982, lives and works in Tel Aviv. She received her BA in art and education from Hamidrasha Beit Berl College. Oren has exhibited in several solo exhibitions and has participated in duo exhibitions with Ruth Schloss and with Alma Shneor as well as many group exhibitions in Israel and abroad. Her works appear in numerous public and private collections including the collections of Bank Leumi and of Musée de l’Élysée, Switzerland.