Arie Vardi Exhibition Catalogue

Arie Vardi

Paintings & Jewellery inspired by travels in Chile, Scotland and the Middle East

Arie Vardi Arie Vardi creates emotive paintings in response to the landscapes he encounters from Perthshire and the West Coast of Scotland to the Negev Desert and Chilean Patagonia.

Arie does more than just capture the scene in front of him; he paints in a spontaneous way using colour to express his emotions and thoughts. He sometimes uses gold leaf to enhance the quality of the paint, making it brighter and more translucent and giving a note of optimism. His use of light is a key aspect of this, as he plays with depicting light moving across the image, just moving into the scene or just about to fall into shadow.

“Nature acts as a metaphor for expression of feelings or sentiments accentuated by the use of colour” This exhibition of paintings in acrylic, oil and mixed media will be accompanied by individual one-off pieces of jewellery in silver and gold, also designed and made by Arie Vardi. His jewellery is inspired by ancient civilizations and the natural world, echoing the shapes and forms of rocks, flowers and water.

“In the process of creation I let the materials speak for themselves and the image or form to reveal itself”

The entire exhibition can be viewed on the Castle Gallery website at: www.castlegallery.co.uk Cover: Workings of the Wind (Sandwood Bay), acrylic on canvas, 30(h) X 80(w) cm

First Snow, oil on paper, 38(h) X 38(w) cm

Scotland Although born in Chile, Arie Vardi has been based in Scotland since 1991. The Perthshire landscape surrounding his studio provides motifs for his paintings throughout the seasons. Arie is an inveterate traveller and this current selection of works explores Scottish landscapes as far afield as Lewis, Harris, Skye, Bute and Sutherland.

Summer Breeze, The Secret Coast, mixed media on paper, 20(h) X 38(w) cm

Heather Blush, acrylic on canvas, 40(h) X 60(w) cm

Fairy Pools, Skye, acrylic on paper, 40(h) X 40(w) cm

Sound of Bute, acrylic on canvas, 40(h) X 50(w) cm

Earl Grey, The Secret Coast, acrylic on canvas 30(h) X 40(w) cm

Workings of the Moon, acrylic on canvas, 50(h) X 60(w) cm

Visibility Good, Occasionally Poor, mixed media on canvas 50(h) X 60(w) cm

John Nicholson Cromarty oil on canvas 41(h) X 56(w) cm

Crimson Night, acrylic on canvas, 30(h) X 40(w) cm

John Nicholson Quiet Retreat, Sanna, mixed media, 34(h) X 30(w) cm

Cumulus Tide, mixed media on canvas, 40(h) X 50(w) cm

The Secret Coast, acrylic on wood, 40(h) X 50(w) cm

Desert Some of Arie’s most formative years were spent in Israel, on the edge of the Negev Desert. The desert left a lasting impression and a life-long interest in the culture of the Nabataean people.

These ancient people inhabited northern Arabia and southern Levant. Initially, they led a nomadic lifestyle with a trading network that was connected by strings of oases. Their ability to harness runoff rainwater and to excavate water cisterns into the rocks contributed to their success. Today, impressive archaeological remains can be seen in the Negev Desert and at Petra.

The painting ‘Easy Passage’ depicts a trail through a desert as a metaphor for a lifeline. Arie says: “Passages through the desert provide security to those using them; they let you know where you are heading and present opportunities for meetings, for traders to discuss business, for shepherds to exchange information and for romantic encounters. Animals also take advantage of trails to move easily from one place to another and to mingle with their own kind. However, a trail can also be a place of danger with predators on the hunt for their next meal. Trails are formed to offer easy passage and when we walk a trail we find ourselves walking the footsteps of ancient civilisations.”

Easy Passage, acrylic on canvas, 60(h) X 90(w) cm

Fragility II, mixed media on paper, 27(h) X 37(w) cm

View to the Past, mixed media on canvas, 50(h) X 50(w) cm

Deep Groundwater, mixed media on paper, 16(h) X 16(w) cm

The Gazelle Doesn’t Need to Drink, mixed media on paper, 16(h) X 16(w) cm

A Day Comes to an End, mixed media on canvas 40(h) X 40(w) cm

Sea & Salt, mixed media on canvas, 30(h) X 40(w) cm

A Moment of Grace, acrylic on wood panel, 51(h) X 78(w) cm

Chilean Patagonia The Chilean Tourist Board says of Patagonia, “It is easy to lose yourself in this area, which is roughly the size of Britain (240,000 km2) but has a less than one inhabitant per km2. Over 50% of Chilean Patagonia is a Protected Wilderness Area. Here, it’s just you and the wild nature. Almost 500 years have passed since Patagonia was discovered, but the words that we use to describe it are the same as those invoked by the first explorers and naturalists: exotic, remote, vast, infinitely beautiful, wild and untameable.”

Arie’s paintings invoke the vastness of the Patagonian ice fields, the majesty of glaciers and the splendour of mountains such as Torres del Paine. The dazzling colours of this stunningly beautiful area at the tip of South America are transposed through his artistic vision into exceptional paintings. It is poignant to note that Arie has only recently been able to return to the land of his birth, after his family emigrated to Israel in the 1970’s because of the political situation in Chile during the dictatorship of General Pinochet.

Land of Fire, acrylic on wood panel, 43(h) X 93(w) cm

Torres del Paine, acrylic on paper, 15(h) X 40(w) cm

Melting Snow, mixed media on paper, 30(h) X 40(w) cm

Before Breakfast, mixed media on paper 44(h) X 32(w) cm

Sound of a Glacier, mixed media on paper, 29(h) X 39(w) cm

Crimson Night I, On Lake Pehoe, mixed media on paper, 30(h) X 30(w) cm

Land’s End, acrylic on wood panel 55(h) X 55(w) cm

Jewellery

ARIE VARDI BORN 1956, Chile EDUCATION 1978 – 1991 1975 - 1978

Kibbutz Revadim, Israel, Silversmithing and Master Casting (lost wax technique) Hadassa Selisberg College, Jerusalem, Israel, Printing & Graphic Design

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2004, 2012, 2015 Castle Gallery, Inverness 2013 The Bothy Gallery, Easdale 2008 Ruthven Gallery, Auchterarder SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 Castle Gallery, Inverness; Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh; Annanart, Glasgow;

Atholl Gallery, Dunkeld; Aberfeldy Gallery; Perthshire Open Studios 2014 Royal Visit Forteviot Fete; SSA Annual, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh 2013 Weekend for Art Lovers, Gleneagles Hotel; Scotland Art Gallery, Glasgow; Dunkeld Art Exhibition 2012 Ealain Gallery, Drymen; Frames Gallery, Perth; Macmillan Art Show, Glasgow 2011 Laurel Gallery, Edinburgh; Ruthven Gallery, Auchterarder 2010 Tayberry Gallery, Perth; Kranenburg Fine Art, Oban;

Life on Canvas Gallery, Edinburgh

ART FAIRS 2012 2011 2010

Glasgow Contemporary Art Fair Affordable Art Fair, Bristol Edinburgh Art Fair, Chelsea Art Fair

COLLECTIONS Works held in private collections in the UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Australia and the USA. TALKS AND WORKSHOPS 2015 Palette knife technique, Perthshire Art Association 2013 Abstract painting, Edinburgh; Painting in acrylics, Perthshire Art Association 2012-15 Silversmithing workshops, Birnam Institute, Birnam 2012 Guest Lecturer on ‘Mood & Emotion’, Perthshire Art Association 2011 Guest Artist, Perthshire Art Association MAGAZINES & PERIODICALS 2015 Inside Artists, Issue no. 2; 2004

The North Magazine

Aesthetica, Issue no. 63

Arie Vardi 3rd - 24th October 2015 Castle Gallery, 43 Castle St, Inverness, IV2 3DU www.castlegallery.co.uk 01463 729512