Noa Ironic
- Anna Lilli Garai
- Jan 1
- 3 min read
Noa Ironic is an Israeli-born artist currently based in the United States. She studied fine art at Shenkar College in Tel Aviv and is now completing her MFA at RISD. Her work includes painting and ceramics, and has been shown internationally in solo and group exhibitions across Europe, the US, and Asia. She has been represented by Rosenfeld Gallery since 2020.
In the interview, Noa talks about drawing as a constant from childhood, about returning to painting after her undergraduate studies, and about how new bodies of work often begin from a single idea or encounter. She reflects on working with ceramics for the first time, how moving between cities has affected her focus, and what stayed with her after completing her recent exhibition “The Good Chyna.”
Q: How did your visual world start forming early on?
A: That's an interesting question. I have been drawing since I remember myself. My mother was a stained glass artist and was super encouraging for me to be creative and active. I would say the mature version formed post-undergrad. I was really pushed not to paint in school, so it took me a while to get back into making images.
Q: When you start a new body of work, what usually pulls you in first?
A: A new body of work usually starts off from a single offshoot that draws my curiosity. I spend a lot of time drawing, thinking, and planning. I think these “aha” moments usually arrive after seeing a really good show or taking a decent trip to the museum.
Q: How did you approach making “The Good Chyna” as a series?
A: “The Good Chyna” was actually not planned at all. The theme that held the show together was time and medium. I made the works between late 2024 and mid 2025, and by the way that thought and time work, the ceramics had a whole lot in common, since I was exploring themes of space and form. I had no idea what the show would look or feel like until we started installing. I brought way more work than needed, and through selection and playing with the install, we got to where it needed to be.
Q: How does working with ceramics affect the way an image comes together?
A: Ceramics were a huge breakthrough point for my painting. The speed and the way ceramics are made changed the way I work and think about color. For those who don't know—first you form the clay and let it air-dry, then fire it, then you glaze it (but the glaze looks nothing like it will post-fire, so the result isn't immediate like in painting), and fire it again. Once it's out of the kiln, it's either a cool surprise or a big letdown. I think that the lack of immediacy changed the way I treat color.
Q: You’ve worked across different cities and contexts. How does place influence what ends up in the studio?
A: When I moved to Providence, I really felt how location changes me. Up until then, residencies were too short to really feel the burn. Providence was so different from anything I knew—cold, suburban, American, boring—so it took me several months to get my phunk back. The lack of action around me that usually informed my work set in, and I started working from feeling and memory and tried to block out my surroundings. Now that I'm in Brooklyn, I feel that New York's rhythm pumped some life back into me.
Q: Teaching is part of your life right now. Does it affect how you think about your own practice?
A: Sadly, it is not. I was teaching at RISD when I was there, and it was extremely beneficial and an honor to work with such talented young people. Something about explaining things to others teaches you so much about yourself.
Q: After finishing “The Good Chyna,” what stayed with you from that process?
A: I'm still in a post-show reflection status. I'm extremely proud of the show, and choosing to show something extremely different than what I have been doing for so long was interesting. This was also my first time working with an artist-run space, and it comes with its difficulties, but it's good for the soul.
Q: What are you interested in exploring next in your work?
A: I'm going to be completely honest and say I'm not really sure. I know I'm still going to explore relationships, both on the emotional and physical level, in the works. Other than that, I'm wide open.
