My work explores the intersection of the modern and the ancient, combining digital manipulation with traditional collage techniques. The term “anachronistic” often comes to mind when describing my practice. I use contemporary tools to create collages in a hands-on, tactile manner—cutting and assembling paper to play with visual distortions and shifting perspectives. By placing cutting-edge technology within historical or ancient contexts, I highlight the tensions and ironies of modern civilization.
Recurring themes in my work include scientific discoveries, technology, alternative energy, and environmental disasters—both natural and man-made. However, my approach is not confined to a specific subject matter. Rather, it is my process and aesthetic that unify my creations. Each piece begins with sketches that help me refine how best to communicate an idea, and I carefully curate images to cut and assemble into the final collage.
I aim to tell multiple stories within each piece. The interplay of natural and manufactured elements reflects my ongoing exploration of the boundaries between these worlds. Through my work, I represent land, sky, water, and architecture simultaneously, blurring the distinctions between them and prompting questions about the human imprint on the planet.
A Curator’s Exhibition Statement : A Shul in the Park Collage has roots dating back to ancient China but became central to Western art in the early 20th century, embraced by avant-garde artists like Picasso, Cornell, Man Ray, Hamilton, and Matisse. These pioneers used collage to delve into perception, emotions, and subconscious landscapes. Anna Fine Foer follows in this tradition, exploring how the mind juxtaposes disparate elements to spark beauty, inquiry, critique, and humor.
Foer’s work bridges mythic and technological perspectives: the former taps into sacred stories of the human psyche, while the latter manipulates reality for comfort, health, or curiosity. Her layered compositions reveal fluidity across time and space, inviting viewers into a world where ancient scriptures meet contemporary issues, often through puns, provocations, and visual storytelling.
At the core, Foer’s collages serve as midrash—within the Jewish tradition, this means recovering and reinterpreting sacred texts. She recontextualizes these narratives, making them resonate with modern dilemmas and asserting their relevance today. Each collage acts as a gateway, bridging past and present, much like the Jewish tradition of drawing upon history to build community for future growth.
Foer’s works create a Third Space, where her imagination and the viewer’s interpretation converge, forming intricate, lush dreamscapes. They are complex, magnificent machines for discovery and connection, offering endless possibilities for understanding and connection across time.
Bio
Anna decided she was going to be an artist when she was 11-when she lived in Paris for a summer, visiting every museum and gallery.
While a fibers/crafts major at Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) she became fascinated by the relationship between maps and the land they represent, embarking on a lifelong interest in maps and collage.
After emigrating to Israel, Anna worked as a textile conservator in Haifa and Tel-Aviv. She studied at the Textile Conservation Centre, Courtauld Institute in London, where she received a Post-Graduate Diploma in Textile Conservation. Back in the US, Anna worked in conservation for the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C and for many museum clients as a freelance textile conservator. At the same time, she continued to construct map collage landscapes with sacred, political and meta-physical significance, depicting three or more dimensions on a two-dimensional plane.
Anna now lives in Baltimore and has two, college graduate sons. Her work has appeared at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Maryland Governor’s Mansion, and the Israeli Embassy and is in the permanent collection of the Haifa Museum of Art and the Beer-Sheva Biblical Museum. She was awarded a prize for the Encouragement of Young Artists for work exhibited in the Artist’s House in Jerusalem.
LandEscape Art Review featured my work and influences
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