More Information
In this series, Romanian-Canadian artist Pnina Granirer explores the deep connection between two ancient forms of human expression: painting and dance. For Granirer, both painting and dance trace back to non-verbal expressions of joy, sorrow, and survival. Capturing the essence of movement, the series features Granirer’s mixed media paintings alongside life-sized ink drawings on Mylar. Using layered paint, gold leaf, chalk, and pencil, these textured, earthy works evoke the body as a vessel of memory and experience. The simplicity of the drawings and the fragility of the Mylar allow the figures to shift gently with air currents, as if they were breathing.
Much like dance itself, the works are dynamic, diverse, and alive with motion. During her exhibition at the Yukon Arts Centre, Granirer collaborated with choreographer Gail Lotenberg on a 15-minute performance in which dancers moved through and around the drawings. “The dancer becomes one with the art,” Granirer reflects, “When the dancer entered the Mylars, there was a gasp from the audience. It was so dramatic and so unexpected.” In subsequent showings, Vancouver-based Granirer invited Lotenberg’s company, LINK Dance, to perform live with the works.