Naomi R. Safran-Hon

Naomi Safran-Hon creates work that makes gripping statements about the fragility of human experience, the complicated nature of one's home, and the vicissitudes of collective identities. The artist is seeking the narrative that is hidden and buried in the landscape. The spirit is inherent in Safran-Hon's intellectual construction, and, as the journey described in sefer hechaloth, the inner odyssey within oneself (Anselm Kiefer) permeates her entire body of work.  Safran-Hon's process lingers at the intersection of drawing, photography, sculpture, and painting, focusing on the internal energy of the material, continuously emboldening the viewer to look beyond the surface. Her work is anchored in undeniable reality, yet she unceasingly builds by extracting the essence from the soul of the materials she uses, thus transforming preexisting contexts.  Safran-Hon uses a unique process to transform her photographs into evocative paintings with strong impressionist undertones. Cutting through the photograph and canvas, Safran-Hon pushes concrete through the lace stretched over these empty spaces then paints on top, imbuing each piece with a sculptural quality whose dimensionality causes the eye to stick in the nooks and crannies of the work, lingering over objects—some immediately recognizable, some requiring effort to piece back together.  Fields of Color II, 2022 Acrylic, lace and cement on canvas 61x54 inches Wall Dreams in Pink, Acrylic, lace, cement, sewing pins and archival ink jet print on tulle 20x24 inches Those Who Got Away, 2020 Acrylic, cement, lace, fabric and barbed wire 55x88 inches