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Leather has always been one of my favorite materials. My desire to observe, to learn and to try something new brought me to the books and museums of decorative art. There I saw ancient samples of decorative art - book covers, jewelry caskets, decorative upholstery for carriages etc - made in a complicated technique of leather mosaic (known as "Leather Intarsia"). This technique was used by Italian and French artisans in 17-18th centuries, but is almost forgotten today because of its complexity and the great amount of labor involved.
My impression was so powerful, that it
evoked insuperable
desire to "revive" this ancient technique and to apply it to
contemporary
themes and forms. Thus my collection of leather artworks, on which I
have
been working for several years, was born. Here I use natural leather,
suede
and lacquer instead of paintbrush, paints and canvas, creating a novel,
unique
expression. I fully believe that other works like these simply do not
exist.
The magic warmth of leather, the
velvety feeling of
suede, the self-confident elegance of lacquer, and their eroticism -
all
this creates a feeling of “presence”, while the
leather’s texture and its ability to radiate sensuality and
intimacy have such an enigmatic attraction
that it is difficult to refrain from touching the picture.
Digging in the storehouse through the
heaps of leather,
much of which, aside from future handbags and shoes, will be thrown
away
because of defects and mildew, I wanted to give a second life to this
rejected
leather, to "revive" it into something new, to grant it a continued
existence
And at last, the most important
– "revival" of my passionate
desire of creativity. I wish that the beauty and originality of
handiwork,
despite the amount of labor involved, will not lose its uniqueness and
individuality
in our super-civilized and hasty 21st century.
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Lora
Verhovsky
1944 Born in former
Soviet UnionArtist, Designer Member of Israeli Proffessional Artists Association 1971 Graduated from Latvian State Academy of Art 1976 Immigrated to Israel |
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Gregory
Ostrovsky - Art
Critic, Doctor in Art History.
Not
each artist, even undoubtedly talented, succeeds to create its unique
style,
to say its own Word in the Art. For this are necessary: courage of
pioneer,
persistently laying ways into the unknown, freedom of creative
self-expression
and independence of the figurative thinking, risen above the pragmatism
of
standard norms and criteria, and , finally, limitless dedication to its
cause,
fantastic diligence, originality of the mature and processed artistic
idea.
All this is
gathered in Lora Verhovsky's works. The artist creates the most unique,
large and beautiful leather pictures, not only contemplative, but also
tangible-sensual. Nothing like this has ever
been done before.
Moreover,
singularity of creative experiment and its productivity allocate to the
artist
a place in a context of the modern avant-garde, updating and expanding
a
range of the decorative and fine arts of the beginning of
21-st century.
Lora
Verkhovsky is the graduate of the Latvian State Academy of Art, And it
has
strengthened her ability not only to possess congenital deep and
refined
perception of Beauty, but also to transfer it, presenting in the most
various
materials, their features and restrictions, to find the unique way to
convey
this beauty to the spectator, giving us unexpected and surprising
impression.
Lora itself
tells about it emotionally, poetically and at the same time extremely
precisely and adequately: "...
Magic feeling of Leather warmth, velvety feel of Chamois, self
confidence
in it's elegance of Lacquer, eroticism - all this create a feeling of
"presence",
while Leather texture and it's ability to radiate sensuality and
intimacy
have such an enigmatic attraction that it is difficult to contain the
desire
to touch the picture"
Amazing
ability to see and to imagine the future artwork in the separate pieces
of
leather and suede, in their colors, structure, and often in their
defects
– from all this the Miracle begins - the Miracle of
transformation of usual
material into the Material of real Art.
Lora
Verhovsky has created its own style, bright and unique which
has connected
imagination and reality into the something new, something that has
never
been seen before. Having accepted 'the game's rules', which were
offered
to us, we cannot be released from under its magic authority any more.
Having
crossed monosemantic plausibility, Lora creates the world in which rule
the
fantasy and imagination, graceful stylization and courageous, but
always
justified, deformation. And in each work virtuosity and elegance,
feeling
of a measure and taste, freshness and originality of the creative idea.
The world in
Lora's artworks is diverse and colorful - exotic first spring flowers,
which are so decorating our life, soft landscapes and abstract
compositions,
original interiors and not ordinary sensuality, tragic destiny of Mary
Stuart
and the 'dry' map of Israel, which revives to the life and becomes
'warm'.
Very much intrigue the stylized
silhouettes of the Cats
so caressed by love, the Horses and the Butterflies, the Crocodiles
silently
storing the centuries secrets.
Each
significant work of art is implanted in today's time. Retrospective
into
the past gives the prospects and ideas for the future, which is always
associated
with the progress, technology and modernization, but: "I
would like" - the artist says, - "that the
Beauty and the
uniqueness of the "work by hands" would not be lost in our
super-civilized
and hasty 21-st century".
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