"Artist Talk"
with
Yehudit Feinstein Mentesh
Artist
with
Yehudit Feinstein Mentesh
Artist
Yehudit Feinstein Mentesh
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"My art reflects the mixed emotions that arise from being an immigrant. The ambiguity between my will to stay close to my origins and, at the same time, embrace my new surroundings is prominent in my work. In my search for a 'home,' a place to belong to, I am walking through my inner worlds, unfolding layer after layer." ~ Yehudit Feinstein Mentesh |
Yehudit's "Untitled" mixed media piece was chosen for Barrett Art Center's MARGINS: An International Contemporary Arts Exhibition. Myrna Haskell spoke with Yehudit about the inspiration behind the piece and her life as an artist.
You grew up in Israel and now live and work in Brooklyn. Is your art influenced by both places?
I’ve been in the U.S. since 2000. I became a U.S. citizen about one year ago, and I am so proud to be an American citizen! But I always say to people, ‘An immigrant stays an immigrant.’ It’s a thin line between the two different worlds. However, I became an artist in New York. And my art is a way to define who I am in my new surroundings.
You have degrees in fine art and psychoanalysis. Do the two merge in your work?
Pursuing my visual arts degree was both an overwhelming and amazing experience. I came to America with nothing. I got scholarships to attend school. Once immersed in the arts, I realized I was an abstract artist. But I also had to survive in New York, and that is hard to do as an artist.
I’m also obsessed with the subconscious. I was an art teacher in Jewish schools, and I took a course in psychoanalysis to understand my students better. Then, I thought about the fact that this was something I was hungry to learn more about. This interest turned into seeking a master’s degree in psychoanalysis. These studies really helped to shape me. I became a healthier person, and I learned to listen better and to use my fears, my traumas – it’s all part of the journey. The work I did in this area became a tool for communicating – I would always look through that lens…it became the glue I used to connect the pieces.
However, I was trying to do everything, including starting a family. When my twins were born prematurely, I realized that I needed to focus on myself and my family. So, I took a step back and changed my focus for a while.
All of my memories as well as my self-discovery of the different parts of myself come through in my work. I am so many things – a wife, a mother, a Jew, an immigrant, an artist.
I’ve been in the U.S. since 2000. I became a U.S. citizen about one year ago, and I am so proud to be an American citizen! But I always say to people, ‘An immigrant stays an immigrant.’ It’s a thin line between the two different worlds. However, I became an artist in New York. And my art is a way to define who I am in my new surroundings.
You have degrees in fine art and psychoanalysis. Do the two merge in your work?
Pursuing my visual arts degree was both an overwhelming and amazing experience. I came to America with nothing. I got scholarships to attend school. Once immersed in the arts, I realized I was an abstract artist. But I also had to survive in New York, and that is hard to do as an artist.
I’m also obsessed with the subconscious. I was an art teacher in Jewish schools, and I took a course in psychoanalysis to understand my students better. Then, I thought about the fact that this was something I was hungry to learn more about. This interest turned into seeking a master’s degree in psychoanalysis. These studies really helped to shape me. I became a healthier person, and I learned to listen better and to use my fears, my traumas – it’s all part of the journey. The work I did in this area became a tool for communicating – I would always look through that lens…it became the glue I used to connect the pieces.
However, I was trying to do everything, including starting a family. When my twins were born prematurely, I realized that I needed to focus on myself and my family. So, I took a step back and changed my focus for a while.
All of my memories as well as my self-discovery of the different parts of myself come through in my work. I am so many things – a wife, a mother, a Jew, an immigrant, an artist.
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Your partial artist statement reads, “My art reflects the mixed emotions that arise from being an immigrant. The ambiguity between my will to stay close to my origins and, at the same time, embrace my new surroundings is prominent in my work.” Could you elaborate?
My art is a way to define who I am in my new surroundings while keeping true to and celebrating my [heritage]. Even though I’ve been here for a long time, Brooklyn became a real ‘home’ to me the last couple of years. My studio is in a co-working space, and it’s very special – the members of this artist community specialize in all different areas, including film, fine art, design, etc. The people who are part of this environment are also mid-career – it’s a calming, non-competitive environment and one I’m thriving in. There’s a real sense of collaboration and celebration of others’ work. The MARGINS exhibition juror, Anthony Elms, stated that he started with a chosen definition for margin: "A condition approximately marking the limit at which something will remain or continue to be or act; a limit." |
Yehudit's Studio in Playground Brooklyn, an Artist Co-Working Space
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Your “Untitled” mixed media piece selected for this exhibition is abstract. Please explain your thought process behind how it speaks to margins.
"Untitled"
© Yehudit Feinstein Mentesh |
I AM the margins!
This piece is the first in a series and tells a story with no title. The lines you see are representative of the lines you see in maps. It describes a geographical journey and depicts a combination of experiences from both of my homes. The journey contains imagery of various memories – such as the small flowers. But you cannot have a full picture of the journey without the margins. Your pieces seem to have several focal points. As I view the piece, my eye goes round and round again, not landing too long on one section of the piece? Is this intentional? The process comes from the subconscious – no initial set plan - but then the conscious takes over as it always does. I also do a lot of writing, and my writing pieces it all together. There is a lot of thinking and intention that goes into it. And yes…there are many focal points. The piece is large scale, and I work on these types of pieces on the floor, moving around. It’s like a dance with the painting. The various focal points are interconnected, all telling different stories or chapters in my life. |
Your favorite medium?
There’s something about using simple materials – materials everyone uses as a child. [In the piece chosen for the MARGINS exhibition, Yehudit used crayons, pencil, sharpie markers and acrylic paint.]
I love Crayola. These were so expensive in Israel. Years ago, when I first visited the U.S. as a kid, I was overwhelmed by the fact that these crayons were so cheap and came in buckets. I couldn’t stop experimenting with them. I work with the markers and Crayola together because I like the relationship that they form. I spilled water on a section, and I just went with it and used the result as a beautiful background color.
Are there any artists whose work has inspired you?
I’m obsessed with female abstract artists, such as Elizabeth Murray, Joanne Mitchell and, of course, Andrea Belag, who was a teacher of mine.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary in a moment of gratitude. There is a Jewish tradition where you say, “Thankful I am” in Hebrew each day. There is this idea that your whole being is rooted in being grateful for what you have…the gifts you receive.
There’s something about using simple materials – materials everyone uses as a child. [In the piece chosen for the MARGINS exhibition, Yehudit used crayons, pencil, sharpie markers and acrylic paint.]
I love Crayola. These were so expensive in Israel. Years ago, when I first visited the U.S. as a kid, I was overwhelmed by the fact that these crayons were so cheap and came in buckets. I couldn’t stop experimenting with them. I work with the markers and Crayola together because I like the relationship that they form. I spilled water on a section, and I just went with it and used the result as a beautiful background color.
Are there any artists whose work has inspired you?
I’m obsessed with female abstract artists, such as Elizabeth Murray, Joanne Mitchell and, of course, Andrea Belag, who was a teacher of mine.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary in a moment of gratitude. There is a Jewish tradition where you say, “Thankful I am” in Hebrew each day. There is this idea that your whole being is rooted in being grateful for what you have…the gifts you receive.
Yehudit Feinstein Mentesh is a Brooklyn-based artist who was born and raised in Israel and relocated to the United States in 2000. She received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and a master's degree in psychoanalysis from The Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis. Her art has been exhibited in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. She has also had careers as a therapist and an art teacher.
