About
In a so far short career Rina Miriam Drescher has succeeded in mastering an impressive range of styles, subjects, media and audiences. Particularly engaging is her work for children - projects that she manages to make accessible and engaging for younger viewers while so evocative and imbued with subtle complexity that it interests mature viewers as well. Never does her work deteriorate into the trivial, superficial or patronizing approach found in many mainstream movies, cartoons and picture books designed for children. Rather her paintings and installations stimulate imagination and curiosity for the young as well as adults.
Ms. Drescher’s installations in particular transport children to a place where creativity, fantasy, and daydreaming are brought to life. Designed for completion in an exhibition, her pieces also serve to introduce children to art and make art itself more accessible for children. Instead of a stuffy, boring museum designed for an adult viewer and with pieces designed for an adult audience, children enter a space that is designed specifically for them. The works themselves have clean lines and uncomplicated compositions that facilitate easy viewing but hold one’s attention because of their originality.
Ms. Drescher often uses straightforward shapes or colors, but in atypical ways or in strange combinations as a means of expression. Ultimately it is the strength of the expressions and emotions that draw in the viewer by engaging the imagination. In her paintings of animals many of the creatures seem almost sneaky and spark a sort of mischievous conspiracy between the character and the viewer. It is quite easy to look at such a painting and immediately devise an entire, complicated tale revolving around this single image. Other works, such as the Pocket Paintings and Dollhouse Paintings (2004) Installation evoke intimacy and a quiet daydreaming quality. Tiny images demand close personal attention while the overall whimsical aspect gently leads the imagination towards fantasy.
Ms. Drescher’s various works for children easily draw in all ages. The mood and emotion of the works stimulate the creativity and imagination of “grown-ups” as well as children. Her work is simple enough to be accessible for children, yet never is it simplistic and through it all the depth of her talent as an artist in general is quite evident. It is the fanciful, playful aspect of her work that is initially engaging, but this deeper level of artistic ability that continues to hold the attention of the young and old alike and leaves us anticipating her next project.
Statement by Brooke Matschek