טובה ברלינסקי, ללא כותרת, 2009, גואש על נייר, 37X49.5 סמ - עותק
In the Light of the Hour After the Flowering*
Curator: Millo Orna
5 Sep — 17 October, 2009
The exhibition presents new works in gouache and aquarelle of flowers and interiors, two subjects that have accompanied Tova Berlinski’s work over the past twenty-five years…
The new gouache and aquarelle works in this exhibition revolve around two main subjects that have been central to Tova Berlinski’s work over the past 25 years: flowers and interiors.Berlinski’s flowers appear at times in groups, at times in pairs and sometimes as a single flower. Their heads are often bowed and seem plucked from the earth, hovering or parachuting over other worlds. Many times their color is black and only the background color seems alive. In this way, Berlinski continues the series of Black Flowers paintings shown at the Israel Museum in 1995. In this earlier series, both the flowers and background were black – the painting was black on black. In the current series there is a contrast between the black flowers and a colorful background. This arrangement highlights the flowers’ blackness, which are like silhouettes on a sharp, colorful background. The flowers become a simile for mankind. There is a complex relationship between them,: the flowers talk to each other, or are alienated from each other in a delicate dance. At times there is a sharp gap between heaven and earth, up and down – flowers dangling downwards into an undefined abyss. At times, a thin colorful line of horizon emerges from above and seems evasive and unattainable. There is a struggle between the life forces in the upper part of the painting and the forces of loss shown in the lower part.In the paintings of interiors there is a strong sense of loneliness: empty spaces, an armchair orphaned from its inhabitant, and even the flowers in their long and narrow vase seem lonely and detached. There is no one to gaze upon them from the empty chair. The interior paintings share large, simple colorful spaces, and a minimalist composition.The power of these works lies in their emotional intensity. Using simple methods, without pretence, the large colored spaces and the few objects they contain, speak for themselves. The spaces emptied of people and the utensils they use, as well as the landscapes emptied of flowers, remain orphaned and bare.Orna Millo, curator
*The name of the exhibition is taken from Paul Celan`s poem: “I am alone, I put the ashflower…” (Trans.: Vivian Smith).