nathan flis art

Rifts in the earth

Begun November 2012; completed August 2013

India ink and graphite on Arches paper

 22 x 30 in.

Figures toil on the surface, either to harvest from or reconstruct these wounds in the earth, while others seek repose under trees that double as smoke stacks.

There are pleasures divine

Begun March; completed August 2013

India ink and graphite on Arches paper

22 x 30 in.

A parade of figures and birds pass underneath a tree-like structure, which is full of star-like shapes, the “seeds of matter” that give rise to life’s diversity. Below, the tree’s roots are interspersed with fish, frogs, oysters with pearls, and plant life.

Soul of the World! Inspir'd by thee [Cecilia or music],


The jarring Seeds of Matter did agree,


Thou didst the scatter'd Atoms bind,


Which, by thy Laws of true proportion join'd,


Made up of various Parts one perfect Harmony.

As steals the morn (detail)

As steals the morn

Completed September 2013

Pen and India ink on Arches paper

22 x 30 in.

The sun breaks over the clouds, which contain the dark materials, or stuff of the world’s creation. Instead of overtaking the darkness, a balance is struck between light and dark.

As steals the morn upon the night,

And melts the shades away:

So Truth does Fancy's charm dissolve,

And rising Reason puts to flight

The fumes that did the mind involve,

Restoring intellectual day.

Lyrics from George Frederick Handel’s ode L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (1740), based on the poetry of John Milton, rearranged by Charles Jennens. L’Allegro is the joyful man, and il Penseroso is the contemplative/melancholy man in Milton’s original pastoral ode (1645); il Moderato is the happy medium added by Jennens to create a third movement for Handel’s music.

Rifts in the earth (detail)

About these drawings: FIGURAL LANDSCAPES

The great divide

Completed September 2013 

India ink and graphite on Arches paper

22 x 30 in.

A group of figures attempts to span a lake with ropes, a seemingly futile exercise. The lines crisscross, passing through the tree on the right, and are anchored by the roots of the tree on the left.

Initially inspired by a crescendo moment in the Kyrie of André Campra’s Requiem (c.1723), which is accompanied by the ‘tugging’ of strings.