Maker of Magic
Written By: Meir Ronnen
Louise Schatz’s retrospective of watercolours and collage now at the Jerusalem Artists House is an unmitigated delight, a reminder in our sad and troubled times that art and original creation does not have to be all Sturm und Drang, nor an intellectual exercise beyond the reach of aesthetics. Her work, compounded of the simplest means (wash on paper and newsprint, with ocasein) conjures up magic and casein, conjures up magic and poesy, just as in the oeuvre of her spiritual mentor, Paul Klee.
Like Klee, her success is one of true creative powers combined with an infinite capacity for taking pains with both composition and technique. One has only to examine how carefully are her bits of paper and cloth placed within the passe-partout, or the rectangles and borders staggered in almost symmetrical assymetry. Schatz has also been influenced by other artists, than Klee: one occasionally finds echoes of late Matisse, Bissier, Nicholson, even Tapies, but there is no hint of mere copying: the best of these have been admired, absorbed, incorporated into her own individual scheme of things.
In any case, one has to be born with her gift of magic.
This show covers a period of 20 years, but shows only a fraction of her output. Nevertheless, the 82 works give a complete picture of her development in Israel, from the semi-figurative, semi-formalized landscapes of the early fifties, to near abstractions derived from leaf forms and other elements in nature, to the last decade and more of pure abstraction. Her work in the seventies shows a continued, happy raising of standard of achievement, coupled with a breadth of design and control of open areas that was not characteristic of her earlier pieces, which were often a combination of both line and wash. The gouaches are sometimes a little fussier than the wash paintings, but usually the result of a search for contrasts of texture. In the wash drawings, Louise uses the paper surface to achieve texture and brilliance of light; she also puts the "dry brush״ to good use. It is worth-while comparing two neighbouring paintings - (61), which has an admirable breadth, with the equally valid - (62) on news print, a crowded work based on unusual yellows.
Most of her paintings are suffused with a gentle serenity and a feeling of satisfaction and happiness, which stem both from the gay, but never strident, use of colour, and also the satisfaction that comes from the bringing off of the most intricate balancing acts. The collage tricks and clever use of “found" backgrounds and surfaces never gets in the way of the message of the work itself, which, like a figure from Mozart, says, “I am happy, clever and human: enjoy me."
All of the works are given singularly apt, often dreamily poetic titles. While titles are superfluous, they seem here to set a seal on the paintings. A typical example is “Midas", where the title led me to discern the visage of the legendary King in a pure abstraction employing a great deal of gold.
Louise Schatz was born in Vancouver and became a member of a creative Californian group of artists. She came to Israel following her marriage to painter-designer Bezalel Schatz in 1951.
The Jerusalem Post
Originally Published: 13/09/1974
Maker of Magic
Written By: Meir Ronnen
Louise Schatz’s retrospective of watercolours and collage now at the Jerusalem Artists House is an unmitigated delight, a reminder in our sad and troubled times that art and original creation does not have to be all Sturm und Drang, nor an intellectual exercise beyond the reach of aesthetics. Her work, compounded of the simplest means (wash on paper and newsprint, with ocasein) conjures up magic and casein, conjures up magic and poesy, just as in the oeuvre of her spiritual mentor, Paul Klee.
Like Klee, her success is one of true creative powers combined with an infinite capacity for taking pains with both composition and technique. One has only to examine how carefully are her bits of paper and cloth placed within the passe-partout, or the rectangles and borders staggered in almost symmetrical assymetry. Schatz has also been influenced by other artists, than Klee: one occasionally finds echoes of late Matisse, Bissier, Nicholson, even Tapies, but there is no hint of mere copying: the best of these have been admired, absorbed, incorporated into her own individual scheme of things.
In any case, one has to be born with her gift of magic.
This show covers a period of 20 years, but shows only a fraction of her output. Nevertheless, the 82 works give a complete picture of her development in Israel, from the semi-figurative, semi-formalized landscapes of the early fifties, to near abstractions derived from leaf forms and other elements in nature, to the last decade and more of pure abstraction. Her work in the seventies shows a continued, happy raising of standard of achievement, coupled with a breadth of design and control of open areas that was not characteristic of her earlier pieces, which were often a combination of both line and wash. The gouaches are sometimes a little fussier than the wash paintings, but usually the result of a search for contrasts of texture. In the wash drawings, Louise uses the paper surface to achieve texture and brilliance of light; she also puts the "dry brush״ to good use. It is worth-while comparing two neighbouring paintings - (61), which has an admirable breadth, with the equally valid - (62) on news print, a crowded work based on unusual yellows.
Most of her paintings are suffused with a gentle serenity and a feeling of satisfaction and happiness, which stem both from the gay, but never strident, use of colour, and also the satisfaction that comes from the bringing off of the most intricate balancing acts. The collage tricks and clever use of “found" backgrounds and surfaces never gets in the way of the message of the work itself, which, like a figure from Mozart, says, “I am happy, clever and human: enjoy me."
All of the works are given singularly apt, often dreamily poetic titles. While titles are superfluous, they seem here to set a seal on the paintings. A typical example is “Midas", where the title led me to discern the visage of the legendary King in a pure abstraction employing a great deal of gold.
Louise Schatz was born in Vancouver and became a member of a creative Californian group of artists. She came to Israel following her marriage to painter-designer Bezalel Schatz in 1951.
The Jerusalem Post
Originally Published: 13/09/1974