Orthodox Jews Use Yiddish

We meet Berlin based artist Navot Miller on the eve of his first solo exhibition at WESERHALLE in Berlin. His new show presents 'Colourful, homo, great.', a series inspired by the artist’s recent travels interwoven with the artist’s multilayered identity. Navot makes large-scale, vibrant coloured canvases, electric compositions fueled by the flamboyant use of colours and the intensity of the exploration of flatness through the means of collage.

Growing up, Miller experienced the many facets of life between the rural vastness of his hometown Shadmot Mehola in the north of Israel and the bustling metropolis—such as New York and Paris—where he travelled regularly to visit relatives. In his visual language his traditional religious upbringing as an orthodox jew and his contemporary life do not oppose each other but are brought to a sensible equilibrium.

His work process starts with his own experiences documented as photographs or videos. Friends, acquaintances, lovers and everyday situations find their way onto his blank canvas, layered into a carefully composed collage of memories. For instance, the work Angelo & Sergio in Casa Biulú, focuses on two figures in a vibrant blue pool—strangers he got to know during his holidays in Mexico—while the background is drawn from a detail of another photograph from the same trip – the red and white stripes of a popcorn bag. Miller balances the components of space and colour to emit a sense of melancholy and voyeurism that charges the vibrant pieces with an unexpected intimacy. Miller describes how during his trip he was taking medications to treat a fungal infection on his face. Because of this, instead of taking part in social situations as he usually would, he played the role of an observer, watching and documenting interactions unfold. He explains further: “This vacation in Mexico was in many ways like the so-called “window shopping” where we see things we desire however, for a reason, cannot have for the moment.”

With a strong interest in architecture, Miller has a naturally heightened consideration towards the arrangement of the individual elements and manages to bring the powerful characteristics of his dream-like scenarios and his own identity into balance that allow for delicate relations to unfold, which are often colourful, homo and pretty great.

Navot Miller is a Berlin based artist from Israel. He studies at the Kunsthochschule Weißensee. His works have been exhibited most recently in Elektrohalle Rhomberg in Salzburg, Austria 2020 and at MISA in Berlin, Germany 2021.

Follow @NavotMiller on Instagram. Visit Navot's solo @Weserhalle in Berlin, show runs from 18th March until 15th April 2022: https://Weserhalle.com/event/colourful-homo-great/

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