{"id":47508,"date":"2025-09-12T01:58:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T08:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=47508"},"modified":"2025-09-11T07:54:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T14:54:41","slug":"both-personal-cosmic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/both-personal-cosmic\/","title":{"rendered":"Both personal & cosmic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Goldstein and Jenny Judge are different in their backgrounds and creative philosophies, in their media and techniques, but they have two characteristics in common: their images are abstract, and strings drive their artistic perceptions. (photo by Jenny Judge)<\/em><\/p>\n

A string is a simple, utilitarian object. Usually, it connects things, but rarely is it associated with beauty. However, String Theory, the current two-artist exhibition at the Zack Gallery, definitely brings beauty to gallery patrons.<\/p>\n

The artists participating in the show \u2013 Jenny Judge and Eric Goldstein \u2013 are different in their backgrounds and creative philosophies, in their media and techniques, but they have two characteristics in common: their images are abstract, and strings drive their artistic perceptions.<\/p>\n

Judge has been an installation artist for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received a BFA in sculpture and printmaking in 1983 and completed an MFA in sculpture in 1991,\u201d she told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cI often integrate a variety of craft-based material and processes in my installations, and I have exhibited them in Canada and abroad, but I have never exhibited my drawings before this show. I\u2019ve been drawing for a long time, but my drawings were never the focus of my art. They were for clearing my head, as was my writing, which is also essential to my practice. Both helped me understand my own concepts better. I guess it is time for my drawings to be in the foreground of a show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Jenny Judge (photo by Mads Colvin)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like her installations, Judge\u2019s drawings have depth, displaying multiple layers of texture and meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heart of these drawings is transition, the two different sides coming together, connected by lines or strings,\u201d she explained. \u201cLight versus dark. Old age versus youth. Northern hemisphere versus southern. Sky versus water. My family lives in Canada and New Zealand, and I\u2019m often traveling from there to here and back. My drawings help me to make sense of these transitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

All her pieces in the show are a wash of muted paint in the background overlaid by a network of strings and nodes in faintly contrasting colours. The web of strings and their junctions is complex and delicate, the lines gossamer-thin, reflecting the artist\u2019s contemplation of belonging to the emotional and physical landscape of both Canada and New Zealand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy drawing are like landscapes,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is even a horizon line in most of them, the line where two different worlds meet, the areas of constant shifting and negotiations. But there is much more to the story I want to tell. That\u2019s why I paint in the abstract style. A simple landscape is just that \u2013 a landscape, a forest or a mountain. But an abstract picture always leaves room for interpretation. Everyone can come up with their own story.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like her images, Judge\u2019s titles are also open to interpretation: \u201cCrossing,\u201d \u201cStriations,\u201d \u201cPass Through,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey underscore my feelings of not always knowing where I am in time and space, of always seeking connections,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inspired by the concepts of meeting points, of confluence and repetition, Judge also sees parallels between her compositions and knitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned to knit from my mother when I was 10. I remember sitting with her as we talked, knitted and counted stitches. I still enjoy knitting. When you knit, you have one string of yarn and you repeat the same pattern over and over again. And, suddenly, you have something else: a scarf or a sweater. That\u2019s what I do when I draw. I repeat endless variations of the same pattern until something meaningful emerges,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another link between her drawings and her knitting is the tool she employs. She draws with a bamboo skewer (very like a knitting needle), dipped in acrylic ink. \u201cIt is a very\u00a0<\/span>domestic item,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it has a sharp point, sharper than any brush. It allows me to draw very thin lines. I build those webs of lines over one another, rows and layers, until I\u2019m satisfied with the result. Sometimes, it takes several layers until the whole starts making sense. Of course, it takes a long time to draw all the lines I\u00a0<\/span>visualize for even one painting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the length of time it takes her to create her pieces contributes to the fact that she doesn\u2019t take commissions. \u201cI tried,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t like the clients\u2019 constant demands. I don\u2019t create art for the money.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Goldstein, however, does take commissions and he relishes seeing his pieces in people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI create mixed media collages,\u201d he said. \u201cI use coloured fibres, gold foil, glass, paint, plaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Judge\u2019s web-like pictures imply multiple dimensions, Goldstein\u2019s fibre string collages tend to one-directional geometries, either horizontal or vertical, their colour patterns cheerful and dazzlingly bright. The gold foil and the glass fragments provide even more pizzazz to his deceptively simple compositions. \u201cI build my canvasses like an architect builds a building,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Goldstein came to the visual art from the movie industry. Over the past three decades, he has been the director of photography for more than 75 film projects, from Hollywood features to documentaries. Creating gorgeous, highly decorative fibre collages for the last 15 years has provided him with a different outlet for his artistic vision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m inspired by nature, by the West Coast landscape,\u201d he said. \u201cNot as it appears on the surface. Instead, I want to capture how it feels to experience it \u2013 often chaotic, often incomprehensible. I try to convey feelings. As a mixed-media artist, I delve into the intricate, visual storytelling of people and the world around us.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pieces Goldstein presents in this show have rather mundane titles, in contrast to the elaborate poetry of the images themselves. \u201cI call my paintings \u2018Poetic narratives with kinetic energy,\u2019\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the paintings, \u201cView of the Bay,\u201d is a symphony of blue, where glass tiles twinkle among the strings like windows on the far shore. \u201cNo Curtains Needed,\u201d on the other hand, is a subtler image, hinting at an open window and a playful light. The artist offers a short description for every canvas, and this one reads: \u201cThe absence of curtains allows for unfiltered light to dance freely upon the walls. It creates a sense of freedom and awe. Reminding us to let go of our barriers, both physical and cerebral, so we can.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of his most notable pieces in the exhibit \u2013 the white and blue \u201cWhat Remains\u201d \u2013 feels like a scream of the artist\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe colours are the deconstructed Israeli flag,\u201d he said. And his description of the image reads like a part of a poem: \u201cThis is my way of bearing witness to the horror unfolding in Israel and Gaza. It expresses my profound sense of conflict and loss of a meaningful identity. This piece isn\u2019t about right or wrong or even resolution; it\u2019s about holding space for complexity, for grief and empathy, and hope that something sacred remains.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Goldstein exhibits a lot, and his works are in demand. \u201cNext month, I\u2019ll have a show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll have 12 paintings there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge and Goldstein didn\u2019t know each other before Sarah Dobbs, the gallery curator, decided that their works were complementary. \u201cTogether,\u201d she said, \u201cJudge and Goldstein show that both our lives and the universe are shaped by invisible threads \u2013 of memory, matter and meaning. String Theory is \u2026 about the poetic links between the personal and the cosmic, reminding us that everything is connected.\u201d Both artists agree. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

String Theory is at the Zack\u00a0<\/span>Gallery until Sept. 22. To learn more, check the artists\u2019 websites: ericgoldsteinart.com<\/a> and jennyjudge.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/b> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eric Goldstein and Jenny Judge are different in their backgrounds and creative philosophies, in their media and techniques, but they have two characteristics in common: their images are abstract, and strings drive their artistic perceptions. (photo by Jenny Judge) A string is a simple, utilitarian object. Usually, it connects things, but rarely is it associated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[24299,23911,24297,22276,24298,8017,6691,23420,24301,24300,40],"class_list":["post-47508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-artwork","tag-drawing","tag-eric-goldstein","tag-exhibits","tag-jenny-judge","tag-mixed-media","tag-painting","tag-sarah-dobbs","tag-sketching","tag-string-theory","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}