Noma Bar is a highly prolific artist whose graphic works are celebrated for their impact and simplicity. Each of his ideas are first drawn in a sketchbook and then transferred to the screen where he works on them digitally to come up with the final conceptualised solution. The duel strategies of his practice are efficiency and humour, and these come from a keen understanding of how the brain accesses and understands imagery. With a limited pallet he subtlety and precisely manipulates shape and form where familiar symbols and pictograms evolve to form new meaning. Negative and positive spaces tessellate creating several images in one, and sometimes a few moments are needed to see the embedded, often poignant, message. Noma uses this technique to its best effect when dealing with social and political issues, which he is very passionate about, and subjects such as nuclear warfare, corporate greed and national identity are illustrated with a hidden twist of humour. In his portraits of celebrities or well-known figures, subjects' features are frequently merged with images that epitomise their fame to form an instantly recognisable face.
Noma once stated that he is after âmaximum communication with minimum elementsâ, and his ingenuity in turning complexity into simplicity exemplifies this idea. Ultimately his dedication to his own principles means that he continues to achieve this personal challenge, time and time again, with universal elegance.
Born in Israel into a highly artistic family, Noma Bar graduated in 2000 from the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design with a B.DES Bachelor of Graphic & Type Design. Now based in London he describes his craft as 'visual communication', combining the skills of artist, illustrator and designer. His two stunning and highly acclaimed books, âThe Many Faces of Noma Barâ and âNegative Spaceâ have become a must-have for design school libraries and tutors.
