Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

Joel Handorff
Painting of flowers on fabric with sewn flower overlay on tulle: 'Blue Mist'

2018

About the Item

‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers becomes the subject—they bring to mind all of the flowers I have ever seen and all the ones I have seen in great works of art. They are a reflection, a kind of magic mirror, defying traditional paintings of flowers.’ As Handorff explains, “the Magic Mirror is about creating a style that is seen and not seen. These new paintings explore aspects of transparency. The works are created with embroidered templates, which are then placed upon materials of varying degrees of opacity and translucence. Paint is pounded onto the surface created by these templates, generating multiple images that reflect the original.” The resulting images are reflections of themselves: ghost images. The pieces are displayed in idiosyncratic fashion, sometimes breaking from the wall. In a way, they are performances in action. For Handorff, the idea of transparency in his work goes back to earlier pieces that were painted on the backs of Plexiglas sheets, in other words, the images were painted in reverse. The idea of Magic Mirror is connected to a sense of community in various ways. First of all, it is an allegory of the East Village scene of the 80s, a rich period of experimentation and multiple styles that all but disappeared soon after it began…a sort of vanishing world, which created a legacy. Also, the term Magic Mirror emerged as a moniker during spontaneous drawing sessions in Handorff’s apartment. Artist friends first started drawing portraits of each other, to later incorporate writing into the pictures, and eventually leading to two or more friends drawing and painting on the same work. The output of these get-togethers, documented on social media and archived in sketchbooks at Handorff’s apartment, created a body of work that in retrospect reveals a common meshing and influence of artist friends on each other. For Handorff in particular, these explorations transformed his work and also offered the added advantage of perceiving himself as an artist in a novel way—one who is not competitive or concerned with authorship. This makes the work transcendental, giving the artist the freedom to create a body of work that explores the magical aspect of artmaking under the umbrella of artistic community, giving the confidence and freedom of a deeper sense of art. The process for these paints started in the drawing sessions, where the collaborative experience fed the dynamism of the pieces in the studio. The dream flowers melt and fold into a mysterious space. If you look at these works, at the materials themselves, some emerge while others disappear. The important part of these works is what is not seen…rather what is suggested within the natural world of flowers. Surfaces mix and match with overlays. In the end, they are not representations of flowers per se, but vessels of the essence of a flower in itself. The Magic Mirror is about transcendence, a sort of Plato’s cave in which the shadows are indicators of a greater reality. Joel Handorff is a New York-based artist who has exhibited widely and is included in many collections including the Weisman Art Museum. In the 1980s he participated in the East Village art scene as artist, curator, and gallerist, running Dramatis Personae. He has exhibited at the Terry Dintenfass Gallery, Harm Bouckaert Gallery, and MoMA PS1. His work has been reviewed by Vivien Raynor of the New York Times and Theodore Wolff of the Christian Science Monitor. In 2012, he received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. His work was exhibited at the Leslie-Lohman Museum’s seminal Interface show, which was curated by Walter Cessna, as well as the Jonathan Weinberg-curated Painting to Survive show at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    2018
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: JH/OceanMist1stDibs: LU42234655261
More From This SellerView All
  • Painting of Bouquet of flowers on canvas : 'Red Pom Poms'
    By Joel Handorff
    Located in New York, NY
    ‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers become...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Acrylic

  • Painting of bouquet of flowers on Canvas: 'Spring'
    By Joel Handorff
    Located in New York, NY
    ‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers become...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Fabric, Acrylic

  • Textile sewn on tulle painting: 'Little Ghost'
    By Joel Handorff
    Located in New York, NY
    ‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers become...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Fabric, Thread, Acrylic

  • Painting of bouquet of flowers on fabric: 'Blue Ocean'
    By Joel Handorff
    Located in New York, NY
    ‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers become...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Fabric, Acrylic

  • Painting of flowers on canvas: 'Green Backyard'
    By Joel Handorff
    Located in New York, NY
    ‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers become...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Acrylic

  • Textile Painting of flowers: 'Rags I'
    By Joel Handorff
    Located in New York, NY
    ‘Starting with a drawing of "real" flowers, I create layers of thinly veiled surfaces. They become abstracted through the process of multiple printings. The essence of flowers becomes the subject—they bring to mind all of the flowers I have ever seen and all the ones I have seen in great works of art. They are a reflection, a kind of magic mirror, defying traditional paintings of flowers...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Textile, Cotton, Acrylic

You May Also Like
  • Andrea Humphries, Flowers and Moor, Original Contemporary Still Life Art
    By Andrea Humphries
    Located in Deddington, GB
    Andrea Humphries Flowers and Moor Still life and landscape painting of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas Framed Size: H 44cm x W 62cm x D 3cm Sold Framed in a...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Oil, Acrylic, Pencil, Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media

  • Oh Yes to Heirloom Bearded Irises_America Martin_oil/acrylic/canvas_still life
    By America Martin
    Located in 326 N Coast Hwy. | Laguna Beach, CA
    America Martin "Oh Yes to Heirloom Bearded Irises" Oil & Acrylic on Canvas 26" x 19.5" Framed Exploring the identity of both her namesake and country, LA-based America Martin draws ...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

  • Village Green II, Andrea Humphries, Original Painting, Still Life Art, Landscape
    By Andrea Humphries
    Located in Deddington, GB
    Andrea Humphries Village Green II Original Still Life Painting Acrylic and mixed media on canvas Canvas Size: H 43cm x W 43cm Size: H 45cm x W 45cm Sold Framed in a Natural Wood Box ...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic

  • Julia Adams, Floral Impact, Original Still Life Painting, Contemporary Art
    By Julia Adams
    Located in Deddington, GB
    Julia Adams Floral Impact Original Still Life Painting Mixed Media with Acrylic Inks on Canvas Canvas Size: H 60cm x W 60cm x D 3.5cm Sold framed Finished in a painted white wood fra...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic

  • Flos 1- 3D nature inspired floral grey silver clay composition in plexiglass box
    By Marie Laforey
    Located in New York, NY
    Marie Laforey is a self-taught artist based in New York, US who maintains a sustainable art practice using primarily organic material. Laforey enjoys the tactility of working with or...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Clay, Linen, Acrylic

  • Flores 3- 3D nature inspired floral composition feather, clay in plexiglass box
    By Marie Laforey
    Located in New York, NY
    Marie Laforey is a self-taught artist based in New York, US who maintains a sustainable art practice using primarily organic material. Laforey enjoys the tactility of working with or...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Clay, Linen, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Recently Viewed

View All