I must remember the kind words during the long months of making art in isolation. Otherwise, the critical thinking takes over.
“Finally I found what I’ve been looking for all this time in Brussels. This painting is my gift to myself to remember a 20 year career here.” ~ Karin
“It was the most exciting outing I have had!! I loved hearing the stories behind the paintings. But most of all I was happy to finally see you after following your journey of your art through social media. My friend [name] is an art lover and was so thrilled that I invited her. Looking forward to receiving the link to the prints. [Name] and I were already discussing where I would put them in my house…”
Some of the visitor’s book got illustrated with lots of love for my paintings and even a suspicious looking “dolphin.”
Meet up groups left very positive reviews online
“Beautiful, Tamar you’re a real artist.”
“Thanks for the immense Naxos joy that you’ve provided for my birthday and beyond! Looking forward to more amazing art from you!!”
“Wow! I don’t know how you do it all…”
“It was quite an emotional experience.”
Some comments were sketches: portraits by little artists… of me!
It’s like looking in a mirror!
Some of these comments were shared in the gallery, some online and some illustrated in the gallery’s visitor book by the youngest art appreciators yet.
“[T]he painting is You! whats been sold was just a small part of your beautiful heart that will simply regenerate and create more love. like a beautiful vine tree.” ~Vicky Anastasiou
“…it’s amazing, your very best art work! Keep going! Really enchanted from these journeys you took me…”
“The paintings have a thrilling effect. I felt goosebumps myself, and then goosebumps again, standing next to the art collector who was getting goosebumps herself. I could feel the visceral connection she had with the painting.” ~ Viktoryia
“…it was magical to feel that part of me and life”
“…[A]n enchanting journey… full of emotions and positive vibrations…”
“Wonderful,” ~Stella Gadona
“Thanks to you for finding that inspiration…”
“I love how much joy it brings and the colour palette you use is so filled with sun and warmth,” ~ Cherine
“Tamar Levi’s exhibition is absolutely awesome and unique!! I enjoyed it!!!” ~Nadia
So many lovely page mentions and shares too, e.g. comedian extraordinaire Lila Stambouloglou:
Some comments were from faraway. They continue to remind me that friendship love and support knows no boundaries.
Gallery visitors whispered things that will keep me motivated to paint more.
“This one makes me feel very deeply,” ~Agita
There’s even a surprise in the visitor’s book. A page illustrated with great talent by another artist, (sadly left unsigned). A portrait of me which appears to appreciate more than my art.
The ever-bustling art scene in Brussels is having a come-back after the pandemic and one of the exhibitions not to miss is most definitely ‘IMMENSITIES” by the artist Tamar Levi, up in Art Base (29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles) until the 10th of October. The collection of around twenty paintings on her travels from Greece to Belgium was painted during the lockdown in Belgium, with the goal to create a window to the world for the viewer and evoke the feeling of freedom. On the occasion of the exhibition and intrigued by Tamar’s life and work, we spoke with the artist who first described to us more how it came to exhibition itself.
‘Due to the pandemic, studio spaces were closed so I painted these twenty canvases during lockdown in my apartment with my family right on top of me. The close quarters inspired a response to the pandemic in my art: I made the landscapes more expansive, and more of an escape view, to create more windows in people’s homes. That’s why the collection is called IMMENSITIES, it’s the big idea of freedom through my painted landscapes, freedom for the viewer’s minds and souls to expand into wide open spaces.’
And indeed, when you look at the pieces in the exhibition, you have this feeling of expansion and freedom, achieved not only by the lines of the strokes but also the fact that the painting doesn’t end with a frame – it flows over it and includes it in itself, breaking all the boundaries and creating a unique sculptural depth for the viewer.
‘My original idea of painting on the frame aims to draw the viewer into the scene, in a sculptural way. This provides the art collector with immediacy for hanging. The bespoke frames provide deep dimensionality. This allows the viewer to step into a scene. Another window for their home.’
And to make this new window view as beautiful as possible, Tamar spent a lot of time carefully choosing the right frames for the paintings to have the perfect match.
‘To prepare for this collection I hunted for the biggest and most beautiful antique frames from markets and auction houses in Athens, Greece and Brussels, Belgium. Then I affixed and painted both canvases and frame simultaneously.’
Tamar is already known to the Brussels audience through her several solo exhibitions and illustrations of books for children, with this exhibition being special for her as it build ups on all the work so far. Having always done drawings in her sketchbook and later illustrations for children’s books, she was now able to go back to those sketchbooks and find the original ideas behind the shapes for this painting collection.
EU PARLIAMENT FEMINIST FORUM ART SHOW BY TAMAR LEVI
‘I have always done drawings I normally illustrate in pen and ink in a minimalist zen continuous line style, however this collection is unusual for me; it was created with a bespoke mix of bright colours. I think of it as being in the Fauvist tradition of colour practice. These were worked on for months in colour theory research and applied as mixed media with oil pastels to create a cohesion in the collection and a sense of many dimensions in the image. The oil pastel on top of acrylic creates a link between my illustration work and my painting work.’
Growing up in Alaska, Tamar never expected to be based at the heart of European politics. She fell in love with a Greek man, whose career brought them here and then she fell in love with the city as well, with Brussels parks being now one of her main motifs.
‘I just cannot stop painting these parks. Is it some kind of secret that Brussels has over seventy parks and they are gorgeous and characterful and joyous too?’
ARTIST TAMAR LEVI AND HER SKETCHBOOK IN BRUSSELS (C)ANJA STRELEC
But Tamar’s fascination with Brussels doesn’t stop there. She sees Brussels as a buffet of nature and culture, exploring the city, museums and all aspects of art.
‘So far I have been exploring the comic book culture, which fits right in with my previous work and current graphic novel project. But I haven’t even started the adventure of discovering the dance culture, which I’m told is a very rich treasure here. I’m sure the talent on the dance scene will inspire some dance-related series of paintings…’
These are just some of the things that inspire this talented and energetic artist whose drive to create keeps moving her forward at all times, so we were very excited to hear about her upcoming projects and exhibitions.
‘My continuous line portraits of women, which were displayed with the European Parliament’s Feminist Forum, will be on exhibit again, this time at the upcoming TEDx conference here in Brussels. I’m really excited to share these portraits with a wider audience. Also, there’s this graphic novel I’ve been working on for 15 years now which I’m illustrating all in one line (but it has to be the right line!). Two years ago I performed the first chapter, all in one line, with live music to accompany the performance art, and so perhaps it’s time to work on the second chapter’s live performance?’
In the near future, Tamar will also start artistic workshops which we are sure will be a success. And if you would like to meet the artist, visit the gallery this Sunday, 4 October, between 2 and 6 pm and have a first-hand experience, enjoying the views Tamar created.
TAMAR LEVI, PORTRAIT BY IRIS HAIDAU
Interview by Iva Galovic. You can follow Iva on instagram for more interesting Brussels stories.
The lockdown made me forget just how serendipitous human interaction truly can be.
So many new and old friends have been able to reconnect in real life, in real time, in this real art show.
Post-pandemic life feels really special. Human interactions are more precious.
Yesterday, separately, two incredible women came into the gallery and I had the powerful feeling we have always been firm friends and will continue to grow and thrive in each other’s company.
One was photographer Corinna Robertson-Liersch whose parallel and mirroring existence as a glowing parent/artist/multilingual professional made me feel like shouting “HERE YOU ARE!” and the other was creative entrepreneur Vik Toria who also gave me goosebumps by identifying all the invisible threads woven into my paintings and sitting down to play “Nostalgia” to my art based on memory… I felt both seen and FOUND.
The pandemic made me forget how soul enriching new encounters can be, filled with possibility and meaning and I woke up grinning today.
I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere. Two rainbow unicorns walk through a pandemic into an art gallery… The colourful artist feels she’s always known but asks for the first time anyway… “Who are YOU?”…
Paintings in the video are from the IMMENSITIES collection on show at Art Base until Oct 10th 2020.
Art Base, 29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles
