I am a contemporary abstract painter using brushes and palette knife. I create colorful abstract collages which vary according to my feelings. I have formulated a visual artistic language that expresses my experiences over the years. Each painting expressed a daily journey, a journey of transition between different emotions, reflecting the transitions and changes in my personal life. My abstract painting is based on the most basic elements: color, line, texture and composition.
The colors and how to place them on the canvas are my way of expressing the journey, like literature or music.
The first layer is the base layer on which the organization shapes and colors build and slowly crystallize into the creation. I do not select a theme or a composition in advance, rather I work building up the painting in layers, all the while searching and constructing.
Although I create random shapes, they become universal and easy to connect to. Each painting takes on a different face until it reaches its optimal composition and harmony.
I draw inspiration for my abstract paintings from the world of architecture, photography, nature and random everyday objects. The colors vary from work to work, depending on my mood. Images create different elements: suddenly a sea, characters and nature. Color stains are transforming. Sometimes the spots are topographical, sometimes lines, soft or hard strokes of the brush or palette knife. Sometimes the technique of etching, scratching the canvas exposes another surface covered with a layer of paint. It emphasizes what I feel while the dialogue between shape and composition take place.
For me painting is a personal "journey", emotional and experienced through color, which is a significant component of the process. I hope that every viewer can take part in, identify with the colors and lines and take the journey with me.
Ika Bar
Born in Jerusalem in 1955
Education:
Avni Institute of Art
Art History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.