Gita Levy’s process is like the focusing and un-focusing of a lens. She builds a color field, reflecting her mood and gradually creates a layered background. She will notice figures and shapes through the colors that will become the subjects of her paintings.

 

“The figures are created almost independently, calling me in a way that cannot be ignored,” she said. 

All shapes call out to her, in the artistic world and in her everyday life. Levy is about recognizing the important figures and shapes that exist around her and inspire her. Sometimes she will work with a pre-existing painting, and paint over it with new color. “The demolition of one painting brings to life a fascinating new piece,” she said.

 

Levy belongs to a small nuclear family as all of her aunts, uncles and grandparents were killed during the Holocaust. Her parents were able to migrate from Hungary on the eve of World War II. She was born and raised in Tel Aviv, where she met her husband, of Middle Eastern origin.

 

Her personal life is a varied cultural environment, where poignant figures emerged, like her figural and abstract paintings. Her move to the abstract followed many years of strict figural work.

“This revolutionary experience made me abandon all familiar models and restrictions and caused me to forget my fear of error. I began to express myself with passion and determination- and often even wildly using a wide variety of bold colors expressing power and depth.”

But she never loses her shapes. In her abstract work the human body is still present, offering a unique combination of both modes. It’s a personal expression she calls, “Human Abstract.”