Artists in Inventory

 

Artist Biography

Naomi Abrams Reinstein lives in Portland, Oregon where she creates two and just barely three dimensional art pieces.  She studied painting in South Carolina and in Oregon and worked for several years on large pieces in oil and pastel. She moved “off canvas” to individual collage pieces and after several years of meeting and working with bookmakers at workshops, began creating narrative art books. She has always been attracted to old things; is an avid collector of ephemera, textiles, and small pieces of this and that which appear in her work. She has exhibited frequently in Oregon and is currently represented by 23 Sandy Gallery.

Artist Statement

Nothing is quite clear anymore. Determination of what is beautiful changes and politics cloud every nuance of modern life.  My work, my books and collages, try to de-layer and clarify what I see.

To this end, I engage paper, glue, small objects and the most basic design principles that I have learned - line, composition, texture, color (or lack of it), space etc. with history and pre-conceived notions.  

In a society where electronic wizardry tempts every moment of our lives, where truth appears to be somewhere under the surface, my books address the layering of politics, of relationships, of science and math, of perceived social order.  The content is not always orderly nor is each book of the same opinion. The pages do not always turn in order, but the information is there. The imagery is not always pretty, sometimes it feels uncomfortable, but the books - the forms themselves - always feel good to hold in your hands and hopefully provoke thought.