Tslil Tsemet ''Fountain''

Tslil Tsemet ''Fountain''

Oil on wood 

122/80 cm 

Signed 

Article from VICE magazine:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/aepjdg/tslil-tsemet-kitsch-cat-lactation-oil-paintings 

Tslil Tsemet (Zlil Zemet)

Through art, I examine the human species via the social and cultural values that we bind ourselves to, and the collective ideas we grasp to maintain sanity. My paintings spring from an inherent need to illustrate what I envision in my mind, inspired by imagery of global cultures, religions, mythologies, and philosophies. I focus on creating art that stimulates many parts of the brain at the same time; art that is simultaneously funny, disgusting, attractive, twisted, sad, happy, scary, mysterious, confusing, beautiful, and ugly — just like life.

I use painting to illustrate personal thoughts, musings and issues through visual metaphor and connotative imagery, while still seeking to always connect to the social-cultural and political aspects of what we call "reality." I paint to confront a cultural idea or explore a specific concept and avoid making choices to create something pretty or satisfy the viewer- I guess as a female it's my way to rebel against gender rules of constantly satisfying others.

Art and visual images have direct access to our subconscious mind, and they have the power to shift and expand the audience, and this, in my point of view, is the power of art and culture. As an artist I have the responsibility to create art that can inspire positive change in the world.

    My goal as an artist is to create space for a pure intellectual but at the same time uplifting experience, which is why my desired direction is more towards big museums versus commercial galleries, as I have mostly been doing thus far.

I began painting when I was three years old, and ever since I can remember I have always painted naked people in strange positions or situations. I continue to use nude figures as the subjects of my paintings, as I have found nudity very useful in creating work that is detached from cultural signifiers or a specific time in history. As humans, it is the easiest to identify and relate to an exposed body for the simple fact that we all own one. I choose to challenge and expand the way we see the physical body and transform the point of view about it from an object to a radical political subject, but at the same time it's personal and intimate.

Solo exhibition by the artist:

2019| “Before we say goodbye” pop-up at studio 939 gallery, Los Angeles, CA 

2017| “Outliers”- solo show at the Neutra Museum, Los Angeles, CA 

2015| “Recent works by Tslil Tsemet”, ATA gallery, San Francisco, CA 

2013| “No free meals”, Jaffa art salon, Tel-Aviv, Israel

2011| “Flammable” Reality Rehab Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel