finding a truth for one’s work
I came to do what I do
by giving up all that I was trained to do.
Life drawing, easel painting, abstraction etc.
I chose to use the least number of choices
and have a reason for any choice I made.
Wave Moiré 11 2007
Ink on paper
I was searching for a truth for my work.
I did not want to be influenced by any one else.
So closely following my nose
and asking questions of my last work
I came to do my next work.
The phrase I asked was,
“What would happen if I…?”
That simple question lead me down a strange path
and to a body of very personal work.
Source: personal email correspondence with Channa Horwitz, used with permission.
Diamond from the Canon Series 1982
Colored pencil on Mylar
I experience freedom through the limitations and structure I place on my work. It would appear that limitation and structure are the opposite of freedom. I have found them to be synonymous with freedom, and the basis of freedom.
As I see the world, it appears to have grown and evolved through a series of chances. My life and how it evolves appears to be determined by chance; but in reality, it is a structure directed and determined by my desires, both conscious and unconscious.
Flowing
The theory behind my work is that if structure plays out long enough, it will appear to be chance. It won’t be chance, it will only appear to be chance. My life flows as all things in the universe flow, in a cyclical or circular manner. It is as in Lobachevskian geometry, the continuum meets itself in space.
The beginning and ending are only one step away from each other. There is no beginning and ending … in the universe. To live for all time, is to live now. My life‘s duration is all time. […]
– Channa Horwitz, 1932 – 2013
Source: extracts from artist’s statement at Anant & Zoo Gallery website
Images and text © copyright Channa Horwitz
the awakened eye 