Their beauty is in that expressionist verve to make a mark – to dare to sing!
By DANNY SHORKENDA painting by David D'Or (photo credit: Courtesy)DAVID D’OR2 Hanagarim St.,Tel Aviv-JaffaAcclaimed singer David D’Or is not only musically gifted, but in only a short period of time he has shown an unbelievable aptitude for painting and visual arts as well. In a large and beautiful gallery space in Jaffa an art gallery is dedicated to his work as a visual artist. There is a vast quantity of work on display, mainly large paintings on canvas. Before one has even had time to dwell on an image, the ambiance and energy of the place is heightened, and art enters the space.On closer inspection there are perhaps two or three main preoccupations: 1) the distorted face, 2) the figurative, and 3) abstract.Sometimes he integrates these subjects and approaches, at other times he focuses exclusively on such subject matter. There are also forays into video and photographic visual potentials. But what unites all such approaches and gives one a real sense of the vitality and courageous wealth of expression, is his sense of color dynamics, composition, line and gesture in such a way that the canvases dance and a vibrant surface manifests – a refusal to submit to inertia, hopelessness and senselessness.Yet such striking surfaces are not simply colorful homages to the cult of beauty. Their beauty is in that expressionist verve to make a mark – to dare to sing! It is, precisely the beauty of beauty. One may recant that beauty is simply vain, that is only pertinent to itself, but may in fact be the counterpart of truth. In this sense, the truth of D’Or’s canvases are their direct, open, free-flowing expression – the song exists in time. And now the paintings exist in space!What works so well in general is that the artist uses a range of abstract mark-making that may be equally subtle or wild. He is at home on both counts. The paintings declare a certain organization, yet there are elements of chance and chaos. Yet just as he is able to modulate his voice, just as he is able to find rhythm and harmony with the musical score, just as he can be versatile and apply his voice in various contexts and a diversity of sounds – so he can translate this into the visual so that color and line demonstrate aesthetic and personal integrity. In simple terms, if granted in post-modern times: His art is an expression of his soul.Contextualizing this somewhat, if one were to grant such high appraisal, one can see in his photographic works of painted figures a reference to Yves Klein; one can see an understanding of the New York school and perhaps a hint of Jean Dubuffet in his rather lonelier portrait heads. Old Yafo is a quaint place, and this impressive body of work is equally superb considering he is also a singing maestro, songwriter and composer.For more information, visit daviddor.com.
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