TAMAR KANDER

Born: Jerusalem, Israel   

Education: Johannesburg S.A., London England, and NY, NY
(see Education below)

Represented by:

Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis / New York
Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
Vivid Gallery, Winnetka, IL

Upcoming

See resume

People ask me how I describe my work: I see it as a metaphor for experience and an expression of what I see and feel. We all have collective memory, as well as highly individual thoughts and associations. I believe we also have a spiritual core, unique to each of us. My work comes from this place.

Although primarily non-representational, my work is influenced by landscape and architectural symbols. There are many recurring themes, evidenced by my titles. I attempt to expose the beauty hidden in the so-called mundanity of everyday life. An example would be the texture and hues of an old and crumbling wall…
The beauty of a reflection on water, the arch of a bridge, etc.
Music is another influence, particularly classical, blues and jazz.

I work with a variety of materials, including powdered gesso, cold wax, dry-wall compound, acrylic medium, marble dust and oils. I build my surfaces onto canvas, sometimes adding collaged materials pertinent and personal to me. Then come marks and gestures made with brushes and other tools, all the while enjoying a reciprocal “conversation” with the work in progress. Often I refer to sketches, notes, diagrams and salvaged images, which can be found in my sketch-books, stuck up on the walls of my studio and scattered about my work surfaces. I then continue the process of realizing my initial idea - my subjective response - by adding more layers, some comprised of pigment, all the while refining and continuing to build up the surface and the image. At this time I introduce ink, graphite, paint and other materials.

I have lived in several countries and have enjoyed the stimulation of travel as well as that of different environments. I grew up in Israel and South Africa. Following matriculation I received a BA in Fine Arts, after which I spent six months traveling and studying art in Italy (a scholarship awarded to me as a merit of excellence from the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg). In the UK I pursued higher degrees in Fine Art and Art Therapy at the University of London, Goldsmiths, England. Following my time in London, I moved to New York where I attended the Art Students League, where I received another scholarship, and studied printmaking.After several years in Manhattan, I moved to a university town in the Midwest, where I live on a lake with my husband, a ceramic artist who teaches silver-smithing and ceramics and produces beautiful studio sculpture.

My work is represented in public and private international, as well as national collections.

Public collections in which my work can be found include the Oxfordshire Council, Oxford, England; Studio Ten, London, England; Jacoby Architectural, Toronto, Canada; PNC Bank, New York, NY; Merrill Lynch, New York, NY; Manchester College, Manchester, IN; Chicago Equity Partners, Chicago, IL; Salton Inc, Lake forest, IL, Glenview Trust, Louisville, KY; Marchfirst, Milwaukee, WI; Clarian Health, Indianapolis, IN; to name a few.