Edori Fertig is a full time artist, an art teacher, a founding member of the Skip Sisters, and the music duo Deptford Wives, and an active member of South London Women Artists. She is an American Brit from New York who has lived in London for half her life. She studied art at RISD (‘Risdy’ or the Rhode Island School of Design) where she met her husband, the English artist Stephen Read. Their son is the solo artist/musician and graphic artist/cartoonist Jacob Read (aka Jerkcurb).

‘Meditations On Blue‘ in Small House Two.

A little bit hygge; a little bit zen.

Edori: (On ‘Meditations on Blue’) One week during the third Covid lockdown (in London) my adult zoom art class and I were looking at the tonal still lives of William Scott and we were loosely following the acrylic lessons of the Will Kemp Art School. I created a series of tonal still lives in response, in browns, taupes, greys and blues. I then began exploring different blues with my adult art students, discovering with them whether they have a warm or cool colour bias. This led to my making a series of 6 inch square paintings that feature objects in my studio, marking out the repetition of the days, and the sense of being inside and staying calm. I find mixing colours to be very meditative and I realised we had been experimenting with blues to combat the blues.

Eldi: (curator) I saw the work on Edori’s instagram and asked if I could have them for the Small House Gallery – they seemed like a ready made show to me. She said yes straight away. Edori brought them over the following week and we shared a socially distanced pot of tea with scones and jam outside on the driveway, with blankets over our laps because it was super cold out, and we talked and talked until it got too unbearably cold to continue. We felt as if we could have talked for days – both from Long Island (NY), a fact we only found out after we met, and both living in South London all this time! We talked about a full-house takeover by the Skip Sisters (Edori’s artist recycling co-op), and a commission we both ended up involved with by some strange twist of fate, 20 or so years apart, and now, thanks to the magic of the internet, together!

In terms of the paintings – the photos (taken with an out of date iphone) don’t do the delicacy and sensitivity of the paintings enough justice. They are not as flat as they may seem. Some are collaged with parts of other paintings, and some have drawings inscribed on top. Some are quite intricately detailed, and there are layers and layers of work involved in each piece. As you can see from the grid above (taken from Fertig’s instagram), they work well as multiples, but they are individually strong as standalone works.

Edori Fertig: Meditations On Blue, 2021

14 miniature paintings in mixed media: acrylic, gouache, pencil, collage on heavy watercolour paper. The 13 paintings in the galleries upstairs measure 6″ squared; the one downstairs in the basement lobby is 4 ^_1/2” square.

Sales:

Want to buy one (or more) of these paintings? All 14 individual paintings are up for grabs. POA. Contact the artist, or us here.

Students:

Interested in joining one of Edori’s art classes on zoom? Get in touch via instagram @edorisartclub!