Living in LA, California, the “giant realism” paintings of emerging artist Tslil Tsemet already got in front of many eyes worldwide. Born in Naharyia a small town in North Isreal and growing up in the politically charged environment of Jerusalem, Tsemet has found some of that manifesting in her art.
Her paintings lie at the divergence of creepy and humorous. Her subject matters are often telling a story dealing with social and cultural matters, which are clearly interweaved in the deepest cells of her being. The artist clearly paints what she experienced or want to experience, and what is important to her.
She believes that laughter as well as art are both healing remedies in this sick, sad world, so those are the things she puts into action. Her slightly disturbing imagery demands your attention. After a longer look, the dark humor of it all hits you and you’re suddenly able to laugh at these hideously daunting things and people therefore taking their power away ever so slightly.
Inspired by different cultures, religions, mythologies, and philosophies, her paintings come from the instinctive need to illustrate what she sees in her mind. Her thoughts and wonders about life are always interpreted in visual metaphors and images. Paintings are never just about being pretty or doing things to satisfy the viewer. It’s much more conceptual.
– “I like to create art that is stimulating many parts of the brain at the same time: that is funny, disgusting, attractive, twisted, sad, happy, scary, mysterious, confusing, beautiful, and ugly — just like life.”
A strong believer in the truth that we are all one; we are all connected. Stripped of our clothing, our skin tones, our speech, our religious beliefs, We are all just naked bodies plodding around trying to make sense of ourselves and the world. She has found that painting her subjects in the nude gets this message across more directly. Also calling upon the fact that nudity does not always have to equal sex or sexiness. Bodies are bodies and we all have them.
“Through art, I examine the human species via the social and cultural values that we bond ourselves to, and the collective ideals we grasp in order to maintain sanity. My paintings spring from an inherent need to illustrate what I see in my mind, inspired by imagery of global cultures, religions, mythologies, and philosophies.”
She 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.” Painting to confront a cultural idea or explore a specific concept, and avoid making choices to create something pretty or satisfy the viewer.
Art is a language, it’s about connection and communication, it have a fast immediate access to the viewer subconscious mind, and it have the ability to help us involve, expand and shift our perception.
Tsemet’s art is at once weird, imaginative, and disturbing—serving as a commentary on the delicate yet crucial balance between innocence and cruelty.
Her large oil paintings have been described as everything from surreal and visionary to tactless and kinky, vaguely describing it as “a sort of realism.” Rather than try to define it for others, Tsemet invites viewers to better define it for themselves.
Check out her remarkable work below.
You can find more of Tsemet’s work on tsliltsemet.com also follow her on Instagram @the.girl.with.the.brushes
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