Chayim Shvarzblat Plays with the Visible and the Invisible

Another exhibition, another challenge to write. ”I thought as I headed toward the Journal Gallery one rainy evening. It is always exciting to see what artists are dealing with, what problems they are opening, what they want to point out to their works and, ultimately, what kind of message they want to convey to the audience with their exhibition, which functions as a medium in contemporary society. Thinking about the future text of the Fog exhibition featuring watercolor artist Chayim Shvarzblat, I decided to use his strategy of highlighting the process of emerging artwork to draw a parallel with the way the text was thought, and use it here as an opening line.

What is Naïve Art?

“I admit that this question is always embarrassing. Not because there is no exact definition, but rather because there is a lot to say about this apparently innocuous question,” says the painter Chayim Shvarzblat, “Simply put, let's say that Naïve Art is an art in itself, made by men, but more often by women with completely different backgrounds. They are trying to express the "slices of life" without necessarily learning painting techniques. That is why it is often said that they are self-taught”.

But, as Chayim Shvarzblat further explains, these "Sunday painters" learn quickly because they work a lot. They end up acquiring a good technique that is very empirical but very certain. Some of them make gross mistakes, but give a unique personal stamp that can be also sought after and appreciated by art lovers. So, after many years, some of them become professionals.