Nurit Avesar

Artist Statement

My work is process based. It is about the idea that history is always personal. Past events influence our present, and our actions, or lack of, will determine the lives of future generations. My process is about interweaving deconstruction and reconstruction. I paint and then sand the surfaces, digging, extracting, and building, adding and tearing away. This process alludes to the abuse of power throughout history. It is about vulnerability, destruction and beauty.  

I start by painting with acrylic on paper or canvas. I then paste a sheet of paper on the painted surface and sand the entire area, repeating this process several times.  I embed thread, cheese cloth, rust and other materials in between the sanded layers.

 I sand, scrub, collage and dig to discover remnants of the original painting through the fragments of multiple layers. The final surface, painted in oil, is an amalgamation of sanded layers, fresh painted areas, and re-discovered remnants of the original painting. The unusual treatment of the surfaces produces a final work that deals with the repercussion of abuse and changes and appears to be much like an archeological site where history is being unearthed. 

I admire and am influenced by Anselm Kiefer and Mark Bradford and their intriguing and complex monumental, multilayered, and distressed surfaces. I am moved by their ability to create images about the personal effects of historical events, such as in Kiefer’s case, the horrors of the Nazi regime growing up in Germany post WWII, and in Bradford’s work, the social and political structures that objectify African Americans and other vulnerable segments of US society.