In an exhibition of virtuoso paintings, Rinat Podissuk-Reisner formulates her version to the story of Lilabes the Circus Girl.

Based on Anna Riwkin Brick’s photographs documenting the quotidian life of a girl in the circus, Astrid Lindgren weaved a very individual story about a girl growing in an adventure arena populated by wild animals, elephants, horses, flying people, clowns, adults and children. The gap between the photographs and the text where Lilabes sounds her voice describing in detail to her readers her experiences, desires, insults and ambitions, enables empathy and identification with a person remote in time and place. Into this gap, Podissuk-Reisner pours her substance. Lilabes is an inspiration, metaphor and alternative biography: she is a heroic girl living in a closed bunch moving from place to place seeing the world. While the children mock her abilities and ambitions to become the world’s most famous rider, adults give her hope, a magic rope and training. The image concluding the story features a tiny Lilabes standing on horseback, her hands spread up, her father at her side and the promise: “I will be the circus’ famous rider”, is at the center of the exhibition.

On a large canvas in the center of the frame: single, noble, elevated, unreachable, Podissuk-Reisner draws the portrait of Diana, the legendary rider, Lilabes’ model with minimalism, sharpness and eloquence. The contrast between the ascetic style and Diana’s supreme status in Lilabes’ life, makes the image sublime and captivating. That same image also appears in small works on graph paper with wide margins to experiment and assess the boundaries, on carbon paper and pencil colors is a stylistic variation and extension of Podissuk-Reisner’s dialogue with childhood.

The freedom, daring, acting, exaggeration and fantasy characterizing circus life are transferred by Podissuk-Reisner onto gigantic canvases in radiant oil colors. Riwkin-Brick’s black and white images magically metamorphose into unconstrained, kicking brilliant images. Podissuk-Reisner distances herself from the original images towards exaggeration and absurdity, accentuating the disorderly, lack of gravitation or precision, image smogginess and lack of perspective just as the circus carries its public away from reality and at the same time portrays it authentically through the power games, taming, tension, fear, laughter and relaxation.

Closing: 21.10.17