LIAT YOSSIFOR

Liat Yossifor (b.1974) was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Yoffisor´s monochromatic paintings are equally pictorial and physical. Using an alla prima technique, Yossifor works within the durational limitations of the liveliness of oil medium and a set of self-imposed restrictions related to the action of painting and her sense of the works as performative gestures, indexed to the artist’s presence.

Her paintings reference an embodied self, reflected in the thickly textured, punctuated surfaces. In seeking to reinvigorate and advance the language of action painting, Yossifor concentrates the “action” near the center of each work while allowing it to become more diffuse around the edges, constituting a figure-ground relationship. A delicate balance between cognition and action, in which the resolution of pictorial space coexists in tension with the painting as a record of an event, the works are grounded in the artist’s movement and generated utilizing a process that resembles automatic drawing. Yossifor attacks, scores, and interacts with the paint to create textural lines and structures that echo drawings; these drawing features are subsequently buried in the ensuing layers of paint.

Yossifor was born and raised in Israel and moved to the United States in 1989. Her early monochrome portraits of women, posed as soldiers, with the features of the sitter appearing as though etched into immersive fields of pigment, resist easy identification. These early paintings explore the effects of cultural displacement and the contradictions of identity. Her series of war paintings consists of abstracted battle scenes composed of multiple figures, where bodies merge with the landscape, revealing a violent theater of war. Yossifor’s subsequent work is divided into two distinct series of abstract monochrome paintings, each adopting aspects of her previous bodies of work. Her monochrome series of gray paintings and black paintings are further delimited by differences in duration, pigment, material, and process.

Select solo exhibitions include Pre-Verbal Painting, The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; Expanding on an expansive subject, The Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena; Time Turning Paint, Pitzer College Art Galleries, Broad Center, Claremont; Double Life, Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt; Movements, Ameringer McEnery Yohe, New York, NY; A Body of Water, Patron Gallery, Chicago; The Stand, Páramo, Guadalajara, Mexico; and The Tender Among Us at the Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont. Group exhibitions include Modulaciones, Museo de Arte de Sinaloa in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, and Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico; 100 Years and Counting, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Saint Paul, MN; Grafforists, Torrance Art Museum, CA; Stolen Gestures, Kunsthaus Nurnberg, Germany; Subject, Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT; New Works, The Margulies Collection, Miami, FL; From America, Museum of Modern Fine Arts, Minsk, Belarus; The Third Wight Biennial, New Wight Gallery, UCLA, CA; and The End, Deep River, Los Angeles, CA. Select public collections include Creative Artist Agency (CAA), Los Angeles, CA; Isabel and Agustin Coppel Collection (CIAC), Mexico City, Mexico; The Marguiles Collection, Miami, FL; Minnesota Museum of American Art, Saint Paul, MN; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; and The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA.

EDUCATION

2002 MFA, University of California, Irvine, USA 1996 BFA, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, USA  

CURRENT AND UPCOMING

Group exhibition Sculptural Surfaces, Anita Beckers Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany September 06, 2019 Fox Jensen Gallery, Sindeny, Australia Fall 2019 B.A.T. State III: Women Artists in Conversation with El Nopal Press, University Art Museum (UAM), California State University Long Beach, USA September 9 – November 15, 2019 Artist residency Rauschenberg Residency, Captiva Island, Florida, USA January 2020  

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018 So, like a forgotten fire…, Gallery Weekend | Páramo, Mexico City Embodiment and Abstraction: Liat Yossifor, Miles McEnery, New York, USA 2016 A Body of Water, Patron Gallery, Chicago, USA The Stand, Páramo, Guadalajara, Mexico Double Life, Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt, Germany Small works, Ameringer McEnery Yohe Gallery, New York, USA 2015 Time Turning Paint, Nichols Gallery, Broad Center, Pitzer College Art Galleries, Claremont, USA Pre-Verbal Painting, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, USA Eight Movements, Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe Gallery, New York, USA Expanding on an expansive subject, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, USA 2013 Hidden, Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt, Germany 2012 Thought Patterns, Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe Gallery, New York, USA 2011 Performers from a Future Past, Angles Gallery, Culver City, USA 2010 Falling into Ends, Anita Beckers Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany 2007 The Dawning of an Aspect, Project, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, USA Project Series 32, Liat Yossifor: The Tender Among Us, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, USA 2006 The Black Paintings, Project, Noga Gallery of Contemporary of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 2005 New Paintings, Anna Helwing Gallery, Los Angeles, USA  

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019 Permafrost, an offsite exhibition, Fox Jensen Gallery, Sydney, Australia B.A.T. State III: Women Artists in Conversation with El Nopal Press, University Art Museum (UAM), California State University Long Beach, USA New Suns, Chapter 2, Páramo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico WET WET WET, Fox Jensen McCrory, Auckland, New Zealand Páramo | GNP ArteCareyes Film & Art Festival, Careyes, Mexico 100 YEARS AND COUNTING, Minnesota Museum of American Art, EUA 2018 New Suns, Páramo, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico One Moment in Time – Part III, Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt, Germany Prima Materia, LACASAPARK, New York, USA Modulaciones: Pintura 1898-2016, Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Mexico. Belief in Giants, Miles McEnery, New York, USA 2017 Modulaciones: Pintura 1898-2016, Museo de Arte de Sinaloa, Culiacán, Mexico. 127, Páramo | 127, New York, USA Why Art Matters!, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA, USA 2016 Grafforists, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, USA 2015 New Works, Margulies Collection, Miami, USA Theory of Forms, Patron Gallery, Chicago, USA Angels with Dirty Faces, Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, Austria Black and White, Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe Gallery, New York, USA ArtWatch 2014: Young Careers – SB to Greater LA, Westmont Ridely Tree Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, USA 2014 Transitions, Anita Beckers Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany 2013 Stolen Gestures, Kunsthaus Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany 2012 80 Days, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, USA Prince at the Forum, Beacon Arts Building, Inglewood, USA 2010 A Reflected Gaze, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, USA 2009 To Here Knows When, University of La Verne, La Verne, USA 2008 The War Is Over, with Aaron Sandnes, Seeline Gallery, Santa Monica, USA A Deadly Serious Show, Sister Gallery, Los Angeles, USA 2007 It figures, Torrance Fine Arts Museum, Torrance, USA 2006 Subject, Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, USA From America, Museum of Modern Fine Arts, Minsk, Belorussia 2003 The Real Me, Occidental College, Los Angeles, USA 2002 The End, Deep River Gallery, Los Angeles, USA Better Look Twice, Pasadena City College Art Gallery, Pasadena, USA 2001 The Third Wight Biennial, New Wight Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, USA  

AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES

2020 Rauschenberg Residency, Captiva Island, Florida, USA 2019 CASA WABI, Oaxaca, Mexico 2015 Artist Project, Aurobora Press, Sun Valley, USA 2012 The Rema Hort Foundation Nominee, New York, USA 2011 Aurobora Press, San Francisco, USA 2010 Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany 2009 London International Competition Finalist 2008 Ucross Foundation, Claremont, USA 2000-2002 University of California, Irvine, Departmental Fellowship  

LECTURES

2018 The Torrance Art Museum Forum, Tomory Dodge and Liat Yossifor, Torrance, CA, USA 2015 “Artists Liat Yossifor and Iva Gueorguieva in conversation with David Pagel,” art critic, curator and art theory and history professor at Claremont, University Nichols Gallery, Broad Center, Pitzer College, USA “The Politics of Painting,” Nichols Gallery, Broad Center, Pitzer College, USA “Artists Liat Yossifor and Nery Gabriel Lemus, with Kevin Appel,” UC Irvine art professor and Joanna Roche, Cal State Fullertonart history professor. Moderator: Christopher Michno 2013 “Visiting Artist Lecture Series,” Claremont Graduate University, Claremont USA Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, USA “Visiting Artist Lecture Series,” Pepperdine University, Malibu, USA 2012 “Visiting Artist Lecture Series,” Alberta School of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada 2010 “Visiting Artist Lecture Series,” Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, USA Panelist at Claremont University, moderator David Pagel, Claremont, USA Resident Artist Lecture, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany 2009 “Is Conviction Possible in Contemporary Painting?” Phoebe Unwin, Andrew Berandini, Jens Hoffman and Liat Yossifor, Honor Fraser Gallery, Culver City, USA “Meet the Artist,” organized by Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA 2007 Exhibition Talk, The Tender Among Us, Pomona College Art Museum, Claremont, USA  

COLLECTIONS

The Margulies Collection, Miami, USA Isabel y Agustín Coppel Collection, Mexico Minnesota Museum of American Art, Saint Paul, MN, USA Creative Artist Agency (CAA), Los Angeles, USA Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA), USA The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2019 Frankfurter Galerien, Gluhen, Leuchten, Strahlen. Von Christoph Schutte veroffenlicht. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zuitung, September 9, 2019 ArtnetNews Pick, Must-See Art Guide:, Pia Fries and Liat Yossifor: Sculptural Surfaces, September 4, 2019 2018 Brainardcarey, Liat Yossifor, Praxis Interview Magazine, Yale Radio, June 28, 2018. Carillo, Alejandro. Modulaciones, un recorrido plástico por el MAZ, El Diario Newspaper, April 27, 2018. Lawlor, Erin. Alla Prima: Painters in Dialogue Interview with Liat Yossifor, the art section, June 2018. Michno, Christopher. Embodiment and Abstraction, Liat Yossifor, 2018. 2016 Hartcourt, Glen. Liat Yossifor: Time Turning Paint. Nichols Gallery, Broad Center, Pitzer College Art Galleries: Claremont, California, USA. Lang, Karen, Christopher Micho, Stella Rollig and Ed Schad. Movements: Liat Yossifor, Doppel House Press. Cesar Garcia, Lo Mejor de 2016 por Artes Visuales, Código, Dec, issue. Andrew M. Goldstein, The 27 Best Paintings of Nada Miami Beach 2016, Artspace, Dec 2. Brit Barton, Sifting Through the Waves of Time, Newcity Art, Nov 25. Schütte, Christoph. Dance in Gray Mass. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, May 18. Presneill, Max. Emergent Presence. Fabrik Magazine, May 2016: p. 83, 84, 2016. Ciara Ennis, The Politics of Painting, interview. Catalogue. 2015 18 Artists to Watch. Modern Painters, December. p.88. Vagen, Rick. Liat Yossifor: Pre-Verbal Painting. The Visual Art Quarterly of St. Louis, Autumn: 4. Michno, Christopher. Matter of Structure, Liat Yossifor. Artillery, March–April: 5. Yossifor, Liat. Gesture, Time, Scribble, Structure – or My Argument with a Picture, Artist Practice, curated by Clay Dean, edited by Tuni Chatterji and Clay Dean. Finnerty-Pyne, Sinéad. Expanding on an expansive subject, Part 4: Liat Yossifor, Gesture (as) Consequence, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, USA. 2014 Woodard, Josef. Visions from the expanded Region. Santa Barbara News-Press Scene Magazine. November 13, 2014: 43. Larson, Judy. ArtWatch 2014: Young Careers – SB to Greater LA. Westmont Ridely-Tree Museum of Art, Santa Barbara. Schütte, Christoph. Exhibition at Galerie Anita Beckers. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, January 23, 2014. Rodriguez, Liliana. Navigating space and History in Paint. The Nomadic Journal, January 9, 2014. 2013 Seyfarth, Ludwig. Stolen Gestures. Kunsthaus Nürnberg, Nürnberg, Germany. Seyfarth, Ludwig. Hidden. Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt, Germany. 2012 Frank, Pricilla. Liat Yossifor’s Thought Patterns Trace the Image of Thinking And A Moment Undone. The Huffington Post, November 9. Schad, Ed. Liat Yossifor: Interview. Painters’ Table, November. 2011 David, Pagel. Liat Yossifor at Angles Gallery. Los Angeles Times, March 10. Mary Anna, Pomonis. Jet Set Saturday: Liat Yossifor at Angles Gallery. Artlurker, March. Bankhead, Steven. Prince at the Forum. Beacon Arts Building, Illustration. Exhibition Spotlight, Liat Yossifor’s Performers from a Future Past. Huffington Post Arts, March 7. 2010 Schütte, Christoph. Construction and Truth, Works by Liat Yossifor and Martina Wolf in the Galerie Anita Beckers. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 3. Brooks, Kimberly. Painting Evolution: Interview with Artist Liat Yossifor. Huffington Post, July. A Reflected Gaze, catalogue Torrance Art Museum. Illustration. 2009 Lang, Karen. Liat Yossifor: Below the Eye. Xtra Contemporary Art Quarterly, Edition of May: 56–59. 2008 New American Paintings Juried by LACMA curator Rita Gonzalez, No. 79, December edition: 168-171. LICC 01. Asterisk Press, 2008: 32, 33 (images from catalogue). Kahstoo, Leila. The War Is Over: Liat Yossifor and Aaron Sandnes. Artweek, Ed. July– August: 17, 18. 2007 Patterson, Carrie. Training Ground. NY Arts Magazine, Edition. Dambrot, Shana Nys. Liat Yossifor, Ten by Ten, Ten Upcoming Artists, March. Newhouse, Kristina. Agonism. Liat Yossifor: The Tender Among Us, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, January. Feldman, Roni. Liat Yossifor at the Pomona College Museum of Art. The Annual Journal at CGU. 2006 Rosenbaum, Hemda. Liat Yossifor: The Black Paintings at Noga Gallery. Achbar Ha’Ir, Tel Aviv, April. 2005 Shaked, Nizan. The Secret and the Surface. Los Angeles, USA, April. 2001 Shaked, Nizan. The Sum of The Parts Is…, The Third Wight Biennial, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.