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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
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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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