10 Questions with Shir Beck
Shir Beck is a painter and dancer, born and raised in Eilat. Before approaching paintintig, she studied flamenco. Her works have been exhibited in Eilat, London and the USA.
Shir Beck portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Hello I am a Beck, and I paint in oil and acrylic.
I live in Eilat, and I really like the desert sea. I paint the city landscape,
The Eternal Sun City of Eilat in the State of Israel. When I drew my paintings, I was created from a dance that did not end with the flamenco dance.
When I was younger, I danced flamenco so it's very reminiscent of the movements; the brush strokes on the canvas are like the clicks with the flamenco legs.
The painting shows the blue turquoise sea that appears in Eilat, a feeling of unending freedom as you feel here in Eilat.
The pier at sea, oil and acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm, 2021 © Shir Beck
INTERVIEW
Could you tell us a little more about your background?
I was born in Arad in 1990, near the Negev desert, and moved with my family to Eilat, located in the Red Sea region in southern Israel. I studied painting and dance for many years, and I danced classical ballet, tap dance, and flamenco dance. I attended elementary school and high school in Eilat. After my military service, I studied industrial design at Studio 6b in Tel Aviv and art and painting at Eilat College.
I have worked at the Nature and Parks Authority in Eilat, at the coral reef reserve park, where there are 100 types of stony coral and 650 species of fish. The sea and the desert are part of me. My paintings reflect the landscape of the city of Eilat. The city with unlimited sun, the desert, and the sea.
My paintings are displayed in different places worldwide, such as London (Boomer Gallery At ORT School), Brooklyn, Florida (Animators Conference), Tel Aviv (Russian Cultural Center), the Eilat Museum, and at the David Dead Sea Hotel in the main hall. Moreover, one of my paintings appears on the cover of the author's book "Wonder" written by professor David Gottman and translated into 9 languages.
My painting is abstract, I show my love for the sea and desert landscape and the dialogue between them. Painting mountains and the sea expresses the power of Nature and the Gulf of Eilat, while the palms are a symbol of desert vegetation and experience in the Eternal City of the Sun.
Yellow and purple flowers, oil and acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm, 2021 © Shir Beck
What is your personal aim as an artist?
Through painting, I want to reveal my love for nature and the landscape of Eilat Bay, the sea and the desert that reflect the calm, serenity and tranquility I experience from my immediate surroundings.
Sharing my paintings expresses my love for the sea and the desert, and in my production, anyone can find a painting with which they can identify in different situations.
I am interested in presenting my paintings to a wider and more diverse audience who love art and can enjoy my work. In abstract painting, everyone sees and feels different things that are unique to them as a result of looking at the paintings.
Your paintings are influenced by your experience with flamenco and the landscapes surrounding your hometown. Can you tell our readers what other experiences of your life are reflected in your works of art?
In my paintings, the effects of the colorful flamenco dance rhythm are evident, the rhythm of the rags clicking on the canvas, creating a work with its own rhythm as music and movement add up.
My stay at the beach for many days affects the colors I use for the watercolors, as in the yellow of the desert. The meeting point with the sea and the desert creates a dialogue that releases emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
The residence in the city of Eilat, the city of the eternal sun, is reflected in the yellow colors of the sun and the blue of the sea, colors that change during the day and seasons.
How has your art evolved over the years?
Throughout the years, I have danced and painted. My art is like a pattern in which rhythm and movement in flamenco and painting are intertwined.
The colorful flowers, oil and acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm, 2021 © Shir Beck
Provence, oil and acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm, 2021 © Shir Beck
What is the most challenging part of your work?
The main challenges accompanying my work as an artist are the desire to express my life journey and feelings and emotions, with delicate touches.
Where do you find inspiration?
The place I go to find inspiration is the beach in Eilat, while watching the water at different times of the day, or the sea looking reddish in the evening and silver in the afternoon, watching the colorful fish and mountains overlooking the seawater.
What do you hope that the public takes away from your work?
With the help of advertising, I hope that many people will be interested in my paintings.
Do you have a role model that you've drawn inspiration from when creating your art?
The role model that inspired me and led my way is the respected painter Joan Miro. I also look up to Albert Einstein's words, "Imagination is more important than information because knowledge is limited, but imagination embraces a world". Imagination is a world and for me, while painting, I feel like I discover and reveal many endless experiences and worlds.
Over the past 2 years we have witnessed a growing number of online exhibitions and live events. What do you think of the recent changes in the art world? Do you miss the art world as it was before the pandemic or do you see more opportunity now?
Following the changes that have taken place in the last two years with the Corona pandemic, I feel that art has gained a wider way of presenting itself and interest the people who have discovered it with the help of the Internet. Art has received great momentum and exposure in different parts of the world. Various galleries open on the Internet and expose art to a very wide and diverse audience. So place and time are no longer an obstacle to displaying my art. The artworld becomes accessible to everyone even while watching on the couch.
Fantasy, oil and acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm, 2021 © Shir Beck
And finally, do you have any upcoming shows or collaborations you are looking forward to?
The next exhibitions I will participate in will be in Tel Aviv at the Ramat Aviv Mall Gallery, opened between 13.1.22 and 13.2.22.
At Eilat Museum, my paintings are displayed throughout the year through rotating exhibitions. Some of my paintings are currently on display at the museum to mark the 13th anniversary of the museum's activity in Eilat.
Additional paintings are displayed in the gallery in the main hall of the David Dead Sea Resort. I enjoy exhibiting my paintings anywhere in the world and love to share them with viewers.
