Nava Waxman’s paintings are both abstract and metaphorical, as she delves into the obscurities of imagination and memory, with the self-belief that those two are impossible to separate.

Representational elements are expressed with strong emotional attachments and often used to create metaphors and personal iconography. They appear in open spaces, blending with intricate bits of found copper objects and machinery, that become nearly ornamental - out of space and out of time. Her work demonstrates personal opinions and perceptions regarding specific aspects of our internal world, feelings, ideas, thoughts and memories.

Nava's paintings emerge as abstract elements that appear below the surface: geometric lines and shapes, blurry horizons, hot spots as bursts of colors, sometimes illuminating, sometimes warming the already earth-toned surfaces. They all reflect the ability of the artist to feel images, sounds, smells and textures viscerally.

The physical qualities of the Nava’s work are the result of many layers. Elaborate collages are personal touchstone for her work: acquired, discarded and re-used printed matter, inserts, overlays, hand-etchings, cut-outs, and inscriptions. Then sealed with layer upon layer of pure beeswax, scratched in almost dry point method and stained with pure pigment. The organic qualities of the copper and beeswax, communicate a feeling of substance and timelessness. The materials and processes used emphasize the paintings as visceral objects, with an evocative physical and earthy presence. In some ways, the whole process creates a history, a lineage, a back-story for each new creation.

Nava Waxman's technique is an integral part of what distinguishes her as a unique artist. The interaction of transparency and opaqueness, create a kind of kinetic energy, which is visible throughout her paintings, and seems to draw the viewer in, to interact and interpret. Her work is striking, poetic, timeless and yet very much a statement about the 'here and now.

Born in Israel in 1974, Nava Waxman studied social science and communication and received a Bachelor of Art from University of Tel-Aviv, Israel in 2002. The following year she immigrated to Canada where she continued her studies at the Toronto School of Art.

Nava currently resides in Toronto as a full-time artist. Her work has been featured in several major exhibitions and galleries over the past four years.