In her recent work, Kurman consciously or rather enigmatically employs processes to take on a range of new forms that may seem complex, puzzling and amusing, awash in the contemporary local landscape. She incorporates animals into her work, the representation of animals in culture, the form they might become, a word, a thought, a meaning. Behind each animal is a significant myth in culture.
With these formal characteristics of the animal, Kurman makes a connection to her personal desires, either through visible or hidden connections. Even more than her personal view of the animals that take form in her paintings, she is fascinated by the perception an outsider might have of her image. She considers the cultural differences and associations they might encounter when encountering the painting in terms of how it affects their consciousness.
The technique Kurman uses in her works are flat shapes on the one hand and a variety of textures, lines and angles on the other, giving them dynamism and vibrancy. This is where the layers come into play, adding further shapes and materials to create a depth that can only be seen on close inspection.
In her solo exhibition Rebus, Kurman has playfully created a space that embraces the idea of the rebus, the representation of a word or syllable through an image of an object whose name is sonically similar to the word or syllable represented. This creates a dialogue between the space and the works on display. The bare white walls are transformed from their empty existence into a new dimension of landscape where they meet and unite, each colour and shape functioning in its role and together creating a new sense of harmony in the space.
Text: Shelly Reich
Talia Kurman, born in 1993 in Haifa, Israel. Studied fine arts at the Bezalel academy of arts and design Jerusalem and at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig in the class of Prof. Christoph Ruckhäberle. She graduated with high honors and in 2020 won the Lauren & Mitchell Presser – for impressive achievements in the field of painting, for a young artist.
