Ran Hadari | Being There

Being There | Ran Hadari

Looking through an observation point in a scenery, the eyes pick up an entire vista all at once. At a second glance, trying to truly know the view, we take it apart and give each section a name: the sky, the Shomron mountains glowing pink in the distance, a shimmer of light touching the treetops, a row of cypress trees lining a distant orchard like hot buns in a basket, pathways peeking from amidst trees, a spot of land – Emek Hefer.

A painter observing the surroundings must first forget everything he once knew. Erase the names, let go of Imagery, ignore the details, dismiss the tale. He finds his place, prepare the tools, narrow and open his eyes, stretch out his heart. He takes slow drags off his cigarette. Inhaled and exhaled air mix together. Only then will he begin to sketch.

The harsh naturalist artistic style once characteristic of Hadari can be found in this series as a foundation on which more layered painting is constructed – in terms of color and shape. Scenery becomes more condensed, distilled, almost minimalistic, emphasizing the sense of movement, the weather and time. His work insists on observation, the search for a structural connection that expresses the aesthetic, appealing foundation hidden in the place, like the discovery of a new land. Nevertheless, his paintings interact with the location, the result of a personal bond with these surroundings. Much like the houses in Tel Aviv that appeared in many of his previous works, the fields of Emek Hefer are part of the artist's everyday sphere.

Hadari's perspective is implanted in a tradition of painting through observation, a habit that holds significant cultural weight. It also interacts with paintings of Israeli scenery, which in itself holds local significance. The validity of this series is driven by the return to that very observation point, as well as the relationships within and without the frame; pieces of scenery carry sources and influence of painting, and act in a formalistic manner while at the same time raise questions of identity, location, and representation.

The complex of these works can also be perceived as one great work through which the artist seeks the inner precision of painting possibilities – a shivering touch of a brush, a steady stroke, borders, masses of paint or transparency – that become a unique and recognizable language. Still, each section maintains a sense of singularity and uniqueness, non-formulaic, which enables the rediscovery of a foreign land through coming closer, knowing, connecting and finally forgetting once more.

Anat Bader, 2011-17