Our community has an up-and-coming artist of whom it can be proud. Recently, a premier art show featuring the works of Naomi Rae Estreicher was held from May 12 to 25 in the Wildwood Building on Yonge Street, near the North York City Centre.
The show was a retrospective of the artist’s creations during the last 10 years. Naomi’s art is bold and unique, revealing strong talent and emotion.
The major theme of her work is the environment. In an intriguing piece titled Swan Lake, there are smokestacks along the coastline, a muddying of the water and a small person suffocating in the corner. However, “notwithstanding the darkness in my paintings, you don’t feel it. It isn’t a depressing work to look at. There are bright colours and my love of life comes through, although there are issues that disturb me.”
Most of the paintings are vibrant and colourful. “I tend to focus on my acrylic paintings, on canvas. Colour is very important in my work,” she says. “They are abstract, although there’s always an identifiable subject or object.” The artist finds it gratifying that people often tell her the work is interesting, that months later they can look at it and find something new.
“I’m most drawn to surrealist art, like that of Salvadore Dali, one of my favourites, ” she explains. “I’m also fascinated by ancient techniques such as frescoes and encaustic works. And I’m attracted to the works of native peoples, not just in Canada but all over the globe.”
Estreicher was raised in Thornhill. She attended Associated Hebrew Day Schools and received her degree in Fine Art Studio from the University of Toronto. Her family belongs to BAYT, and her mother taught for many years at Associated.
Originally, Naomi was enrolled as a science major at university. She chose a few courses here and there in art, but her interest in the subject was so profound that she decided to change direction and focus on her passion.
For more information, contact sunrae@go.to.
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