Rotem Reshef on her New Art Series: ‘Spectrum’
After receiving a prestigious scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Rotem Reshef honed her process even more by participating in a summer residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York. As she began to explore the transition of the four seasons, she created “Time Traveler” for the University of La Verne in Southern California. In 2018 in Tel Aviv, she debuted “Intervals” which expanded her focus even further. As we discussed the unique space at Soho House and the warm climate in LA, she created 22 works which feature gradients of cold, warm, and hot. Reshef’s newest series, “Spectrum“, was installed at Soho House West Hollywood on July 1 and will be on display through July 30, 2018 (by appointment only).
If you’re in Los Angeles this month, reach out to Kipton Cronkite, curator of the exhibition, and he’ll take you on a private tour or simply preview the works here.
Q: WHY DID YOU CREATE “SPECTRUM” … THE NEW SERIES CURRENTLY AT SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD?
A: Spectrum was created specifically for the Soho House West Hollywood after seeing the space in early 2018. I wanted to create a series of paintings as one unit, but one that was also divided into singular paintings that could work by themselves. In the last two years I have been interested in the transitions of seasons, as they might be portrayed in the era of climate changes and global warming. “Spectrum” comes as a continuation of this thematic exploration.
“Spectrum” is a series of 22 paintings created for Soho House West Hollywood (July 1 – 30, 2018)
Q: WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
A: Despite living an urban life, I am inspired by my everyday experiences and interactions with the nature around me. Inspiration can come from falling leaves that I find on the ground or on my car, or by trees that are framed by the windows of my studio. The juxtaposition of the flora and fauna with the urban environment of cement and smog, comes through my work via the tonal and textural tension between the vibrant colors in their restrained forms. The paint is bright but suggests dryness, similar to the restrained nature that appears here and there in the urban surroundings. I am of course inspired by culture and other creators working in arts, theater, fashion or cuisine, among other things. Inspiration is all around.
“Time Traveler: Part II, Compass”, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA (2017)
Q: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR ARTIST IN RESIDENCY AT THE SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS IN NYC.
A: In 2015 I spent a summer as an artist in residence at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Although I am dividing my time between my studios in Tel Aviv and New York, it was very interesting to be surrounded by art students and teachers who are established artists themselves. It almost felt like going back to art school as a student myself and I devoted most of my time to explore and develop my art. The inputs I got through the residency and the feedbacks I received while I held my solo exhibition there, were eye opening, and encouraging toward more experimentalism and risk taking in my work.
Inside Reshef’s Tel Aviv Studio (2016)
Q: WHAT WAS THE PUBLIC FEEDBACK OF YOUR 2018 PUBLIC INSTALLATION IN TEL AVIV?
A: The reactions were tremendous, both from people in the local art scene, from my followers on social media and from the general public. It also received nice reviews in the press. Since it is a mural on the facade of The Artists House, a very popular and well known institute in Tel Aviv, it is being seen by hundreds of people every day. The impact on the building itself and on the surrounding neighborhood is so significant, that at this point it became an open ended installation.
“Intervals” at The Artists House in Tel Aviv, Israel (2018)
Q: WHEN YOU CREATE YOUR PAINTINGS, PLEASE EXPLAIN YOUR PROCESS
A: I’m a process based artist. In my paintings I don’t work towards a specific outcome but embrace the process of creation. In contrast to painters that use an easel, or a wall, or even brushes, I make the paintings with canvases that are placed on the floor, and work with diluted paint, alongside different materials that are placed on the wet surface. For “Spectrum” I used different vegetation – branches, leaves, palmates and pinnates. I covered the canvases with these extracts of nature, leaving them for over a week for the pigments to absorb, before removing the organic components. The results created a ghost-like eternal blossoms of vivid landscape, that merge nature with artificially, temporality with eternity.
Rotem Reshef with “Time Traveler: Part II, Compass”, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, California (2018)
Q: HOW IS THE ARTIST CULTURE IN TEL AVIV DIFFERENT FROM THE ARTIST CULTURE IN NYC?
A: Both cities are very vibrant and dynamic, very busy, not to say hectic. Both have amazing artists, but of course the scene is Tel Aviv is smaller, much less known, there are fewer galleries, fewer collectors and fewer institutions. The New York art scene has a long history and it is much more established. The Tel Aviv art scene is still evolving and growing. I enjoy spending time in both places, one balances the other.
Q: TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF NO ONE KNOWS
A: Although I’m a city person, I guess agriculture runs in my blood. My great grandfather was a farmer and an author, and as an owner of many orange orchards, was among those who built the brand Jaffe Oranges. My grandma worked in the Israeli research institution for agriculture (Volcani Center), my father was the head of the Botanical Gardens in Tel Aviv for many years, and here I am, collecting trimmed branches, imprinting them on canvases and creating my art with them.
“Although this repetition of seasons occurs every year, it never repeats in the same way,” says Reshef. “Each season of every year, is one-of-a-kind creation of nature that disappears, only to re-emerge again, differently.”
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