Escape in Blue, Oil on Panel, 24" x 30"
July's Art Murmur, Oakland's bustling friday of the month art walk, proved once again that Oakland is a great destination to find amazing art! Despite all the stimuli (ie. the street vendors, food trucks, block parties) stealing my attention away from the art, the Galleries prevailed at peaking my interest. The Wall Gallery on 25th Street, though really a glorified hallway, made the biggest impression on me. What really blew me away were modest sized, oil on panel paintings by Hadas Tal.
Escape, Oil on Panel, 24" x 24"
Tal, a 2012 graduate of the Academy of Art University MFA Program, is making a splash on the Bay Area Art Scene. Hailed by California Home & Design as a Top Ten Artists to Watch in 2012, Tal has nabbed 1st and 3rd place Awards in Landscape Painting at the Academy of Art Spring Show, exhibited (and won awards) at the deYoung Museum, and garnered representation at the Paul Thiebaud Gallery in San Francisco. Born in Israel and raised in New Jersey, Hadas Tal currently lives and works in Emeryville, California.
Violet Door, Oil on Panel, 20" x 30"
What really strikes me about her urban buildings are their harrowing presence and mood. I should note that there she did show a portrait in this solo exhibition, two if you count a dog painting as portraiture, but her strengths are more clearly articulated in her paintings of crusty city structures.
The compositions are grid-like, the buildings are depicted frontally, often dominating the entire picture plane. The in-your-face view of the buildings makes them intimidating, coupled with the fast and loose style, darkened, hallowed windows, these images are downright creepy. While the structures (and often titles) are menacing, they are also beautiful. The images are detailed and loose, buttery and grimy, alluring and repulsing. Such dichotomies add a richness to the work; disparate elements emulsify to form arresting works of art. I look forward to catching more works from this up and comer!
More works and info can be found here: http://www.hadastal.org
