Malka Nedivi | Transcending Matter

Malka Nedivi’s “Transcending Matter” melds discarded materials with poignant imagery into powerful emotional content. 

(Los Angeles) Malka Nedivi’s current solo exhibition Transcending Matter is on view from Sunday November 13 to Sunday, December 11, 2022 at Matter Studio Gallery, 5080 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. An opening reception will be held on Nov. 13 from 4-8 pm.  The gallery will host an artist talk on Dec 4, 2-5pm where the artist will present a performance excerpt from her upcoming one-woman show “A Story About Shoes” at 3pm. A closing reception is scheduled for Sunday, December 11 from 2-5 pm.

Malka Nedivi’s Transcending Matter is the visually articulated story of reclaiming lost family history and healing for herself and her ancestors. It is an artist’s response to immense life challenges of generational trauma, coupled with immigration’s loss of grounding, and complicated familial relationships.

“…Nedivi's most singular gift is for transforming the literal and metaphorical artifacts of ruin into objects and experiences of folkloric, fantastical, and hypnotically eccentric beauty.”                                                                                                                                       Shana Nys Dambrot, Huffington Post, 2016

Nedivi began creating large sculptures and collage paintings following the death of her mother in 2002. These works explore the emotional connection she had with her parents - both survivors of the Holocaust.  Born in the newly established State of Israel after her parents immigrated from Poland, Nedivi was raised in a family without ancestral mooring-where none of their history was discussed and remains largely unknown. Artmaking became her method for filling the gaps created by their lack of familial past.

“Everything that I use is old. I am giving the materials new life.” is how she describes the mixed media ingredients of her work.   In repurposing discarded materials, she reclaims and restores diminished significance.  Her resulting collaged figures combine Figurative Expressionism with the directness and accessibility of folk art.  Nedivi’s process consists of layering and molding fabric, paper, and other mixed media in a way that is reminiscent of how her mother collected materials, perpetually patching and mending holes in worn garments.   She sees her art as her way of mending the holes in her own life.