Nogah Engler
Nogah Engler's haunting landscapes tread the tenuous path between the
idyllic and its dissolution. Drawing on nature's endless cycle of life
and decay as well as the destructive hand of man, her paintings embody
the fragility of existence and the ultimate dichotomy of life/death
that lies at the heart of the natural order. Although never directly
depicted, the human presence is always implied and traces of man's
history are gradually disclosed across the layered strata of the
painted field.
The oppositional elements of her subject matter are effectively
manifested through Engler's painting technique. She constructs a
complex illusory space of interconnected zones of paint combining
translucent washes of oil and gloss colour with areas of beautifully
drawn, tightly rendered detail set against open voids of raw, blank
canvas. By systematically creating and negating large areas of the
painting's surface, Engler speaks as much to what is not seen as to
what is revealed through tangible objects and situations. The negative
space is activated as a means to go behind physical presence and
figurative interpretation to reach concealed human narratives and more
specifically human atrocities. Indeed, if the cliché follows that time
heals all wounds then for Engler it only functions to hide them just
beneath the surface of things.
Nogah Engler's new body of work began with a journey made into the
heartland of the Ukrainian Galicia region in 2005. Drawing on written
and word-of-mouth accounts left to her by her grandfather, she tracked
down the village of Kosov and the dwelling where her father, uncle and
grandfather remained in hiding for two years during the occupation and
systematic massacre of Jews throughout the villages in the area during
World War II. Although the final realisation of a place long-imagined
enabled some emotional catharsis, it has only worked to further
intensify her infatuation with a landscape that remains forever
beautiful yet endlessly tarnished by its own history.
Across an organic process of development and experimentation, each
painting approaches this theme from different angles and perspectives
and the effect within the frame of the gallery space is cumulative.
From tangled scrublands criss-crossed with berried brambles through
frozen forests, broken fences and fallen trees, all paths seem to lead
toward one fateful mountain. Throughout, animals act as innocent
witnesses - whether as suitably ominous night creatures residing in
dark, shadowy places, deer grazing quietly in clearings or as
incidental sacrificial symbols. They, along with the flowers and
berries that fight the odds and bloom through the permafrost stand as
a hopeful testament to nature's unswerving ability to re-generate and
renew. Day follows night and life inevitably begins again.
Since graduating from her MA in Fine Art from Chelsea School of Art in
2004, Nogah Engler showed in London for the first time in 2005 in
Nogah Engler / Peter Stauss: new works on paper at Ritter/Zamet.
Since that time she has been included in numerous group exhibitions
and has been short-listed for the Ill Castellón Painting Prize and the
Celeste Painting Prize in 2006 as well as participating in the
exhibition, Nogah Engler: Enchanted Forest, at the Israel Museum,
Jerusalem (cat.). Endless Night and Day at Ritter/Zamet, London was
her first ever gallery solo exhibition in 2007. In 2008 Nogah Engler's
work was included in the Beijing Biennial.
Shown by
Ritter/Zamet, London
For more information on the artist http://www.ritterzamet.com/
idyllic and its dissolution. Drawing on nature's endless cycle of life
and decay as well as the destructive hand of man, her paintings embody
the fragility of existence and the ultimate dichotomy of life/death
that lies at the heart of the natural order. Although never directly
depicted, the human presence is always implied and traces of man's
history are gradually disclosed across the layered strata of the
painted field.
The oppositional elements of her subject matter are effectively
manifested through Engler's painting technique. She constructs a
complex illusory space of interconnected zones of paint combining
translucent washes of oil and gloss colour with areas of beautifully
drawn, tightly rendered detail set against open voids of raw, blank
canvas. By systematically creating and negating large areas of the
painting's surface, Engler speaks as much to what is not seen as to
what is revealed through tangible objects and situations. The negative
space is activated as a means to go behind physical presence and
figurative interpretation to reach concealed human narratives and more
specifically human atrocities. Indeed, if the cliché follows that time
heals all wounds then for Engler it only functions to hide them just
beneath the surface of things.
Nogah Engler's new body of work began with a journey made into the
heartland of the Ukrainian Galicia region in 2005. Drawing on written
and word-of-mouth accounts left to her by her grandfather, she tracked
down the village of Kosov and the dwelling where her father, uncle and
grandfather remained in hiding for two years during the occupation and
systematic massacre of Jews throughout the villages in the area during
World War II. Although the final realisation of a place long-imagined
enabled some emotional catharsis, it has only worked to further
intensify her infatuation with a landscape that remains forever
beautiful yet endlessly tarnished by its own history.
Across an organic process of development and experimentation, each
painting approaches this theme from different angles and perspectives
and the effect within the frame of the gallery space is cumulative.
From tangled scrublands criss-crossed with berried brambles through
frozen forests, broken fences and fallen trees, all paths seem to lead
toward one fateful mountain. Throughout, animals act as innocent
witnesses - whether as suitably ominous night creatures residing in
dark, shadowy places, deer grazing quietly in clearings or as
incidental sacrificial symbols. They, along with the flowers and
berries that fight the odds and bloom through the permafrost stand as
a hopeful testament to nature's unswerving ability to re-generate and
renew. Day follows night and life inevitably begins again.
Since graduating from her MA in Fine Art from Chelsea School of Art in
2004, Nogah Engler showed in London for the first time in 2005 in
Nogah Engler / Peter Stauss: new works on paper at Ritter/Zamet.
Since that time she has been included in numerous group exhibitions
and has been short-listed for the Ill Castellón Painting Prize and the
Celeste Painting Prize in 2006 as well as participating in the
exhibition, Nogah Engler: Enchanted Forest, at the Israel Museum,
Jerusalem (cat.). Endless Night and Day at Ritter/Zamet, London was
her first ever gallery solo exhibition in 2007. In 2008 Nogah Engler's
work was included in the Beijing Biennial.
Shown by
Ritter/Zamet, London
For more information on the artist http://www.ritterzamet.com/
