“Fish Plus”  

Periscope Gallery, Tel Aviv

March 2020

Chen Peiper 

In a Solo exhibition "Fish Plus" I presents a new and extensive series of mediums that are related to the subject Fish.

I'm inspired by traveling around the world, cultural interactions in the broad sense of the word, to constant renewal attempts and work on the boundary of abstraction.

The current series "Fish Plus" contains personal insight and autobiographical elements - almost a longing for a distant land.

In this series, I deliberately move away from the pragmatic design principles that were characterized in my earlier works, assimilate and illuminates recognized art types in materials as transparent and painted glass by manual method (hand painted), combined with materials like metals: silver, copper and iron in glass-making techniques used in the "slumping” and  “Fusing" techniques.

The works are the result of formal attempts, color and light. A constant search for how objects can interact in such a space and scale different in size from reality in nature.

The choice to engage in the subject is the search and inspiration of the fascinating life in the world of water. My Dutch roots in a country where water is one of the most characteristic and important components, are very much influenced by the subject that I'm dealing with today. The “eel” series "Palingen" (in Dutch), is typical and returns me to earlier times.

The colors of the sky and the sea and in between human beings. This is the essence of the work “refugees". The sea is their last refuge. The use of magnifying glass and "net of hope" overwhelms this world problem. Pictures emerging from countless events of refugees at sea on their way to another country in search for a safe haven.

At the end of this month, I will participate in the Tel Aviv 2020 Biennial of Arts and Design at the Eretz Israel Museum on the subject of "On / Off" exhibits, which underlines the tension between past, present and future in a series of tools.

Tool imagery embodies human ingenuity and resourcefulness in providing solutions. By re-purposing utilitarian daily articles into artistic one-offs and by transforming old metal tools into sculptural objects that incorporate glass, My challenges are the idea of strength and efficiency, eliminating their usability forever.