Shirley
Padureanu

My love for art was discovered at an early age. I recall closing myself in my room and drawing for hours. Later in life, I studied art and graphics in school.

In 2007, my first solo exhibition presenting my work took place in Shavei Zion. The exhibition was a success and triggered the opening of my studio, based out of Kibbutz Shomrat, in 2008.

My style is modern, spanning realism to abstract. I tend not to limit myself to a certain structure or template and allow my imagination and intonation to guide me. As a natural autodidact and investigator, my canvas often transforms to an experimental field, where I allow myself freedom to invent, develop and experiment. Layers of paint are added, removed and added again to come across as leading me in my paintings, as opposed to me leading them.

A common motive in my paintings is the paint dripping, which demonstrates a sense of freedom and un-leashing myself from a particular structural approach. The dripping of the paint has its own life and you can’t always control it. While there are times, where the observer may feel this was done in error, I see this as a central metaphor of my approach, where I celebrate this, investigate and react to them and then create a new style around
them. The final output often showcases multiple layers of paint “peeking” underneath the final top layer, a clue as to what transformed during the creation process. I grant importance to these clues and memories, as they are an integral part of the work, and the journey to the final product.