Katia Lifshin is a painter who finds inspiration in long gone memories of old photographs. Reviving these moments with a new perspective, the artist tries to resolve humane feelings while forming intimate illusions.
Lifshin works with familial themes such as childhood memories, sisterhood, friendships, and a sense of identity. In her artworks, she uses black-and-white photographs of anonymous subjects as references to portray her narrative by changing the scenes or the people and adding colors. Her painting technique involves oil paints and soft pastels, and sometimes she works with cyanotype prints, one of the oldest photographic printing processes.
Lifshin recalls moving back to Israel after six years in the U.S. as one of the distinctive moments in her life that has shaped her practice. Although it was a challenge, the artist took the opportunity of starting over and looked for new ways to express her ideas. As she told herself that she was free with her art, she began exploring and creating with different techniques and developed her language in terms of color and storytelling. Through this experience, Lifshin embraced the idea of change and continuity in creating her artworks.
During the lockdown period, Lifshin’s color palette switched to brighter colors. Using painting as a way of escaping from the mental burden, she created pieces that helped her with processing feelings and cultivated positivity in her. She was drawn to green and blue tones as they reminded her of nighttime and dreams, where oddities and creativity are more welcomed.
Her solo exhibition “Parallels” which was showcased at Moosey Art Gallery in London consisted of paintings in a dreamlike reality of greens and blues. Lifshin portrayed sitting, resting, daydreaming, or playing characters of young girls, who simply accept and exist in this different and uneasy surreality. Recurring elements such as her subject wearing a hat, holding a yellow flower or the checkerboard pattern are symbols that the artist repeats until they become her subject’s identity.
As her inspiration, Lifshin lists the Polish-French artist Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola), whose paintings are known to be rejecting the usual conventionality. In addition to Balthus, the artist is influenced by the Canadian painter and printmaker Alex Colville, whose works depict the relationships between humans and animals, and the American painter Jordan Casey, whose use of color and light is inspirational. Aside from the known names, Lifshin states that she is inspired daily by fellow artists that she discovers on Instagram.
You can learn more about Katia Lifshin and her upcoming exhibitions on her Instagram @katia_lifshin and her website. Don’t forget to share your views with us in our comment section below!
About Katia Lifshin
Katia Lifshin is a painter who was born in Ukraine in 1993. The artist studied painting and sculpting at Pima College, Tucson, Arizona, where she also had her first solo show. Since then her artworks have been included in many group shows and displayed in various gallery spaces, including Limner Gallery in Hudson (New York), Hacubia Gallery in Jerusalem, {9} The Gallery in Phoenix (Arizona), and Buckham Gallery in Michigan. In 2020 she took part in the virtual group show “Hedges and Houses and Mothers and Children”, the fourth I Like Your Work exhibition. Lifshin lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Inspiration Farmer is a collection of artists and designers we discovered recently. We are inspired by their work and decided to make a weekly collection.
Katia Lifshin’s Paintings Narrate Long Gone Memories With A New Perspective
Katia Lifshin is a painter who finds inspiration in long gone memories of old photographs. Reviving these moments with a new perspective, the artist tries to resolve humane feelings while forming intimate illusions.
Lifshin works with familial themes such as childhood memories, sisterhood, friendships, and a sense of identity. In her artworks, she uses black-and-white photographs of anonymous subjects as references to portray her narrative by changing the scenes or the people and adding colors. Her painting technique involves oil paints and soft pastels, and sometimes she works with cyanotype prints, one of the oldest photographic printing processes.
Lifshin recalls moving back to Israel after six years in the U.S. as one of the distinctive moments in her life that has shaped her practice. Although it was a challenge, the artist took the opportunity of starting over and looked for new ways to express her ideas. As she told herself that she was free with her art, she began exploring and creating with different techniques and developed her language in terms of color and storytelling. Through this experience, Lifshin embraced the idea of change and continuity in creating her artworks.
During the lockdown period, Lifshin’s color palette switched to brighter colors. Using painting as a way of escaping from the mental burden, she created pieces that helped her with processing feelings and cultivated positivity in her. She was drawn to green and blue tones as they reminded her of nighttime and dreams, where oddities and creativity are more welcomed.
Her solo exhibition “Parallels” which was showcased at Moosey Art Gallery in London consisted of paintings in a dreamlike reality of greens and blues. Lifshin portrayed sitting, resting, daydreaming, or playing characters of young girls, who simply accept and exist in this different and uneasy surreality. Recurring elements such as her subject wearing a hat, holding a yellow flower or the checkerboard pattern are symbols that the artist repeats until they become her subject’s identity.
As her inspiration, Lifshin lists the Polish-French artist Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola), whose paintings are known to be rejecting the usual conventionality. In addition to Balthus, the artist is influenced by the Canadian painter and printmaker Alex Colville, whose works depict the relationships between humans and animals, and the American painter Jordan Casey, whose use of color and light is inspirational. Aside from the known names, Lifshin states that she is inspired daily by fellow artists that she discovers on Instagram.
You can learn more about Katia Lifshin and her upcoming exhibitions on her Instagram @katia_lifshin and her website. Don’t forget to share your views with us in our comment section below!
About Katia Lifshin
Katia Lifshin is a painter who was born in Ukraine in 1993. The artist studied painting and sculpting at Pima College, Tucson, Arizona, where she also had her first solo show. Since then her artworks have been included in many group shows and displayed in various gallery spaces, including Limner Gallery in Hudson (New York), Hacubia Gallery in Jerusalem, {9} The Gallery in Phoenix (Arizona), and Buckham Gallery in Michigan. In 2020 she took part in the virtual group show “Hedges and Houses and Mothers and Children”, the fourth I Like Your Work exhibition. Lifshin lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Images: Katia Lifshin’s Instagram
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