Aaron April’s watercolors are celebrated for their remarkable depth and luminosity, frequently featured in exhibitions alongside his commanding oil paintings. Defying the conventional notion that watercolors must be executed quickly, April often dedicated significant time to these works—sometimes even more than to his oils—allowing for an extraordinary richness and complexity. His status as a significant watercolorist was powerfully affirmed by his notable 2002 exhibition at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.
Within this versatile medium, April explored an extensive range of subjects, including profound spiritual themes, evocative landscapes, and intricate allegorical compositions. He was particularly lauded for his seamless ability to blend figurative and abstract elements with precise tact, demonstrating a nuanced mastery unique to his vision. Critics consistently praise his exceptional skill in rendering light and subtle color nuances, observing how his watercolors convey an “internal light carried by the pigment itself” and the mesmerizing “melting desert colors.” This exquisite effect, achieved in watercolor, was often considered more refined than oil for capturing the delicate, almost ethereal luminosity of the southern Israeli landscape. Masterpieces like “On the Eve of Shabbat. Converging on the Wailing Wall” (1993) stand as prime examples, showcasing his “amazing precision” in depicting both architectural structures and intricate figures with breathtaking clarity.
While Aaron April fundamentally leaned towards figurative art, his work is rich with abstract elements and approaches, particularly evident in his later period in Israel. Rather than pure abstraction, April masterfully integrated abstract qualities within his compositions, often combining figurative and abstract elements with remarkable tact, especially notable in his expressive watercolors.
In April’s dynamic style, lines could “outlive themselves,” and forms might “dissolve in the hue,” leaving behind only a hint or suggestion of a figure. This technique allowed images to emerge from, or be suggested by, the very paint and color, rather than being strictly delineated. This inherent fluidity significantly contributes to the abstract feel of his pieces.
A core aspect that fuels the abstract quality of April’s art is his intense focus on color and light. The essence of his work is often described as the “violence of color and its perception,” where colors are perceived as “fighting each other or embracing each other.” This powerful, dynamic interplay of color functions as an abstract language in itself, conveying profound emotion and energy. The unique, intense light of Jerusalem, in particular, profoundly influenced his deep “color obsessions.”
His innovative concept of “memory stains” also introduces a distinct abstract quality. Images and figures can emerge from collisions and layers of paint, or from these evocative “stains,” which are analogous to the fragmented and layered nature of memory. These “memory stains” frequently form a rich, intricate tapestry rather than a strict narrative, encouraging the viewer to actively interpret what they see and frustrating any overly simplistic identification.
April also aspired to combine the static nature of plastic arts with a sense of dynamics, seeking to “cross the borders of plastic arts.” This involved utilizing painterly elements, including abstract ones, to convey a compelling sense of movement and concentrated time within the artwork.
Ultimately, while April’s subjects often drew from the visible world and biblical narratives, his sophisticated use of abstraction – through dissolving forms, dynamic color, and the evocative “memory stains” – served to deepen the emotional, symbolic, and spiritual impact of his art. It invited the viewer to engage actively in interpreting the “multi-meaningful, multifaced and fantastic” world he so uniquely created.
