Hadas Tal | Crush
Hadas Tal’s new body of work Crush explores four bodies of water: the Pacific Ocean surrounding the Hawaiian Island of Maui, the Outer Banks in North Carolina, the Pacific Ocean surrounding Northern California, and finally the Atlantic Ocean on the shores of Nova Scotia. Each holds special meaning and memories for the artist.
A long time lover of the water, Hadas has been eager to explore its nuances and subtleties and how it interacts with the land it surrounds. Having spent time exploring the island of Maui, she has become particularly interested in the transparency of color and light on the ocean’s waves and the surrounding environment at different times of the day and weather. In Sugar Beach I, for example, the sky carries an ominous foreboding layer of grey clouds with bursts of light shining through, reflected in the water and the shore.
Sugar Beach II reveals a closer look into the action and drama of the waves. They intersect into each other revealing layer upon layer of linear marks and planes of color, highlighting the significant moment where there is a shift in color temperature and value.
“I love mixing paint and finding color harmonies and relationships that play off one another. The medium of paint itself can be luscious, and varies depending on how much medium is added and the way it is laid onto the surface. Exploring the endless variety of mark-making is what I find most thrilling to work with.”
Born in Israel, but with her painting career taking shape in American urban enclaves New York and the Bay Area, Tal has recently found herself relocated to the lush and verdant scenery of North Carolina. This relocation shows up in her new body of work. Deep greens are now present, reflecting the emerald tones predominant in her new state. The towering rectangles and squares of her earlier urban landscapes have been replaced with the waves of oceanic tableaus.
Always a reflection of her mind’s eye, Hadas Tal’s works are shifting with the energy of a different place, a new daily joy to be captured in oil.
