.Bronx Oranges, 2012. Gouache on paper 46 x 61. Available
This is an old favorite of mine. My grandmother saved a bag of housecoats sewn for her by my grandfather, in Art Deco fabrics. It is funny how inspirations are stored in our memory.
I know that interior designers tend to select artwork, that won’t compete for attention with their more profitable choices of floor coverings and bedspreads… but this would be lovely in some countryside boutique hotel
Thirteen Persian Flasks, 2014. Gouache painting by Chanan Mazal, 46 x 61 cm
שלושה עשר בקבוקוים פרסיים, 20914. ציור גואש של חנן מזל
I started this one before my last visit to the US, and had a hard time going back to it. So I just went bonkers with splattering yellow and orange, and let it flow from there. Just let things go.
The controlled, cleanly drafted, identical bottles, all placed at an identical height, were in contradiction with the rest on the painting. So was my flat treatment of these bulbous forms, against the depth and flowing movement of the background
בקבוק פרסי, גואש ודיו. 46 * 61 ס”מ, 1.12.2014. למכירה
I truly tried to make this one ugly at first. It seemed as if the initial nasty color combinations and spooky undercurrents, were beyond my ability to turn into something with delicacy and conventional beauty. Did my self imposed challenge succeed?
Five Persian Flasks, 2014, Gouache on paper 46 x 61 cm.
חמשה בקבוקים פרסיים 2014. גואש
Contrasting wild, spontaneous and drawn undercoats, with the ornamental, painted over layers, continues to intrigue me. I find it cathartic to bounce between wild dance movements, usually created while standing up, and the very controlled leaves painted while sitting.
In this series, I search for a paradox: Either by unexpected colors or by subject matter and line, I seek to create, erase and recreate a feeling of depth and distance. These round bottles, supposedly with volume, can only be flat. Cutout. Motionless. The patterns behind them however, flapping in the wind, are anything but that.
Two Vases 2014 by Chanan Mazal. Gouache 41 x 61 cm. Available.
שני אגרטלים , גואש, חנן מזל 2014 למכירה
Artists and others desiring to promote themselves, are not supposed to invite viewers to participate in critiquing their works. But I shall:
I was very happy with the mixture of wildness and “prettiness”. I often use this color palette of complementary reds and greens, and then break the sharp contrasts into musty grays. This time, the pallette gained a new meaning by surrounding the windy central white band. The white also added a feeling of depth. The while was so far away, outdoors.
I was tempted to leave the painting at this lovely abstract/ornamental stage, but I was not completely convinced by the composition.
Rather than added a new decorative element along the diagonals, I took the risk of adding an old, old convention: Vases, balanced on their toes like plump ballerinas.
My goal as an artist is to offer the viewer a paradox. Aesthetics plus curiosity is far more satisfying. I realized that the vases would flatten the depth and flowing movement of the strips of pattern. All the more so since I chose to paint them in the same flat manner as the background. What I gained is a tense composition. Balanced against all of the rules.
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I have been busy exploring the border between drawing and painting. Gouache over pencil, pastel, oil pastel, calligraphy ink…. and whatever else was within arms reach. 30.5 x 30.5 on Ampersand Clay Panels (Koalin – white clay on hardboard. An artist’s dream come true. Alas, they ain’t available here in Israel, and my secret source has run dry.)
Chanan Mazal | Israeli Artist 