STATEMENT
My work tries to visualize my concerns for the conflicts and problems of society and attempts to become a mirror of truth that reflects the history of Past and Presence.
I am driven by a moral and political commitment and attempt to reflect our times not directly and realistically but by contrast and allusion that celebrates beauty and energy, yet at the same time commemorates their destruction.
For the last years my work has focused on crucial aspects of environmental concerns, which have a profound impact on our lives. In the current climate where many still believe that environmental changes are of no relevance, I find myself giving these issues more and more importance and address them in the context of my paintings, books and installations. By sharing my concerns with my viewers, I want to raise awareness hoping that together we can start a movement that will turn into a collective effort to protect and preserve our earth.
BIOGRAPHY
Ilse Schreiber-Noll, a mixed media artist, was born in Germany. She received her MFA from Purchase College SUNY where she studied and taught “The Art of The Book” and Woodblock printing with the late Uruguayan – American visual artist Antonio Frasconi. His work became a profound influence upon her together with the works of German writers and artists, among them Bertolt Brecht and Amseln Kiefer.
Schreiber-Noll’s work leans on nature as a rescue device in a sea of political disillusion – looking upon the environment as a steadfast and reliable presence amidst the damaging tendencies of society. For many years the artist focused on woodcuts and producing Limited-Edition Books in collaboration with poets and musicians, among them Joseph Brodsky, Dennis Brutus, Galway Kinnell, Octavio Paz, John Cage, Robert Kelly, Nathaniel Tarn and others. She also closely collaborated with the late critic and translator Eric Bentley. Together produced booklets with songs and poetry by German poets and composers using Bentley’s English Versions.
In recent years the artist returned to painting, installations and making unique Artist’s Books. She creates densely painted surfaces with the addition of collage elements: such as wire, wood, photos and sand that give a strong sense of physical presence. Much of her work depicts the terrors of war and the threat of ecological disaster but often juxtaposed to the beauty of life. Though her work is less concerned with beauty than with ideas, it transmits an undeniable sense of poetry and lyricism.
