Judy Rifka - Animal Spirit; Animal Spirits; Dots.

These three works from 1994 are part of the “Animal Spirits”-Series and they reveal a certain reference to formalism. 

 

At a closer look the fact that there works aren’t an actual painting is revealed: there are collage-like pieces of linen that have been glued on linen, like painting that dispenses with actual painting.

 

These monumental animal-like figures have bodies that have been built from geometric shapes - these were pinned together like puzzles. The resulting forms act autonomously on a background, that has almost the same color as the figure glued on it.

 

A psychology of perception may have been used in these works to obtain optical insights from the viewer, because these figures and shapes are seen as animal shapes.

 

At the same time, by renouncing pigments, an emphasis on the canvas texture, line and composition is created, which also reveals an excellent dynamic.