Introduction:
As a youngster, I loved art classes and received much encouragement, but my parents felt my talents lay elsewhere. I went to law school receiving a J.D., and graduate school receiving a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Public Policy. *I became a lawyer, a professor, and ultimately, an Administrative Law Judge in Illinois where I heard and adjudicated cases for 23 years.
Now, living in Jerusalem, Israel, with my wonderful husband, I have had the outstanding opportunity to pursue art classes for the last three years at Bezalel School of Art External Program, the Israel Museum Adult Studio Class and Meir Appelfeld’s Studio Class at the Ginobli Art School. I have and continue to study under teachers who, themselves, are famous artists. I have also completed a three program at the Bezalel Ceramics School.
My work has been shown in the following:
Bezalel Ceramic Public Exhibit , Beit Hanson, Jerusalem 2018
Cinamateque Israel Movie Festival, Israeli Artist Exhibit (Judged , ten Israeli Artists) 2019
Bezalel Public Ceramic Public Exhibit Beit Hanson, Jerusalem 2019
Israel Museum Public Student Exhibit, Israel Museum Education Wing, 2019
Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) , Jerusalem, Israel, August 3, 2020
*University of Illinois John Marshall Law School J.D.
Northwestern University Ph. D.
VIVIAN GORDON
Paintings and Drawings
The Courtroom
Rebellion
Toddler Chanukah Gan Party
Children in Jerusalem Park: Yaar Hamginim, Defender’s Forest
Mother’s Hug at the Kotel
The Botanic Garden
The Kitchen: Inner Space
Father and Baby
The Israel Museum Inner Courtyard
The Kinneret
Miriam and Baby Moshe
Zevi and the Dog
Our Neighborhood Park
Ceramic Bowls with Sculpture
Exploring sculpture dynamics
Blue bowls
Broken bowl
Lillies and Pods
Colored Sculpted Bowls
Evergreen motif
Historic Motif (Esther and Mordechai Kever)
Gray bowls
Leaves and flowers
Boxes
Vivian Gordon – Artist’s Statement
Development as an Artist
As a girl, I loved and excelled in art, but my parents, like many at the time, felt I should pursue a different career. After earning a J.D. and Ph.D., I became a lawyer, a law professor and I was an Administrative Law Judge for the last 23 years of my career. When my dear husband and I decided we would retire to Israel, we bought our apartment and moved in permanently and happily. However, within 6 months of being here, my husband’s health deteriorated and after years of hospital stays, therapies, and nursing centers, my husband is now on life support in a nursing center. I became profoundly sad and decided to take an adult art class at the Israel Museum. This was just a delight and when that was over, I called Bezalel, had an interview and was accepted. This began my more serious development as an artist.
My two major foci were drawing/ painting and ceramics. Developing the ability to draw, sketch, and paint were a daily part of classes and homework. Bezalel strongly advised me to take ceramics, and, while I had no background, I developed the ability to do both pottery on the pottery wheel and do complex sculpture in my work. All my classes were taught by famous Israeli artists and I benefited from these wonderful teachers with whom I continue to study. At some point, I became able to use the tools they taught me to develop my own “language” and choose the nature of subject matter I wanted to explore.
Choice of Subject Matter: Painting and Drawing
The particular subjects I love to capture in my work are moments in our lives that are personal, intimate and profoundly inspiring, in a good way. For example, during the beginning and worst part of corona, when I had to stay home, I missed visiting my husband. I searched and found a thirty-year old photo of him holding our baby daughter. I loved drawing that picture and it is emblematic of the kinds of both personal and universal moments of our lives that I like to capture in many of my paintings.
I also like to explore both inner and outer landscapes. When describing landscapes in my paintings, I like them to be colorfully appealing and full of life; landscapes of Israel are always breathtaking and “inner scapes”, like our kitchens, are always fun because they are places where we spend so much of our lives, and not just cooking.
I am drawn towards extensive development of color, light/shadow and exploration of translating two-dimensional space into three dimensional aspects. These are reflected in both my landscapes and portraiture. Regarding color, I am always looking for subject matter where color is a profound part of the composition. Developing values and textures as they play against one another is also a significant part of my work. For example, when you look at my examples of outer landscape and inner landscape, you can see this happening. Also, the portraits of the children set against various background settings incorporate these ideas.
Historical motifs and references within a contemporary framework are part of my developing my own language. This is something I continue to work on in both my paintings and pottery.
Choice of Subject Matter: Ceramics
Making beautiful bowls on the pottery wheel is just the beginning for me when choosing subject matter for my ceramics. A sample ceramic box and a variety of bowls are included in this exhibit. Nature is a big source of inspiration as I develop ideas to incorporate into my ceramics. But the process is much more complicated and is hidden from view when looking at the final product.
For example, first I collect flowers, leaves, and various real life botany that I think will look beautiful on a bowl. I make a series of drawings and then consider glaze options. I make the bowls on the pottery wheel and then begin sculpting ideas on the bowls. These bowls are fired twice, with two or three types of glazes and still, with all the preparation, the outcome of a bowl or pot always remains unknown until it leaves the kiln. Since Hashem’s world is unlimited, so are ideas for my pottery.
