Audrey & Pippin

Natan Elkanovich’s art is remarkable for its use of a unique painting technique with a glossy plastic texture, creating raised surfaces with silicones and acrylics. He also introduces a variety of materials such as glitter, metal elements and crystals (Swarovski crystals). The main figurativa motif in his work is surrounded by decorativa geometric shapes, with texturas and decorations similar to those used in baking. Elkanovich was immersed in the world of cooking from a young age, so much so that he uses cooking and baking utensils, such as star-shaped nozzles, to apply the materials to the canvas or aluminium support. Decorativa motifs such as spi¬rals, stars, waves and spongy textures in bright colours are repeat¬ed and combined over the whole canvas surface. AII elements are applied by hand to the canvas via a delicate process whereby the artist patiently creates each geometrical form.

Regarding the themes in the painter’s works, these are clearly related to those of Pop Art. The work Audrey & Pippin (2017), in the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, is part of a series that the artist calls the From my lcons Series, remembering the great legends of American Pop Art. In this series, he creates various portraits of the most famous Pop works and iconic figures from the world of film, music, art and fashion. In the artist’s own words:“I paint famous people and homages of art works by great masters that have had a deep impact on my life … who heavily contributed to my spiritual worldview and are depicted in my paintings too” (1). The most common reference in his production is to the works of the American artists, Andy Warhol and Roy Liechtenstein. There are also often allusions to fashion, since he graduated in design and fashion from the Tel Aviv College of Engineering and Design and worked as a fashion designer in film and television in Israel, to where he soon moved from his home country Moldava.

In the work Audrey & Pippin he recalls the work of Warhol, the eminent symbol of Pop Art, representing the actress Audrey Hepburn in a sensual pose in the film Breakfast at Tíffany’s. Elkanovich places Audrey in the foreground with a cigarette holder in her hand. The black Givenchy dress and necklace of Warhol’s original image have been substituted by a mosaic of bright colours and textures. Audrey has an eye-catching tattoo on her left arm with the profile of David Bowie and the words “Come in Bowie”. On the right-hand side there is Pippin, the deer adopted by Audrey next to the words “Light my Fire”, ironically placed next to the No Smoking symbol. The back-ground is decorated with the painter’s typically colourful geometric shapes based on spirals and stars. Elkanovich made several versions of the Audrey Hepburn image with slight variations in the elements, such as the colours and texturas of the dress, the tattoo on her arm and the background, for example, Audrey, 2022 (2).

The artist’s works have been exhibited in many galleries through¬out the world: New York, Los Angeles, London and especially Tel Aviv, and are also included in a number of private collections.

María Luisa García Serrano

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(1) Natan Elkanovich. www.natanelkanovich.com
(2) Natan Elkanovich. Audrey, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm. On www.artsy.net