Bidspirit auction | Batia Malka

Batia Malka - ''The Hostage Inside'' 2025. The painting speaks of a dream and a desire for a better reality, a reflection of the environment and the sky on the trailer. A blue trailer with a figure trapped inside it (the figure is revealed to the viewer only in retrospect). Oil on framed Canvas  50/50 cm signed  In 2017, with the birth of her second son, Batya closed the ceramics studio due to excessive exposure to toxic substances and the desire to focus on family life. The sculptures she created were all sold and are in large private and public collections (details on Wikipedia). In February 2024, at the height of the war, the artist felt she could return to creation. The painting is the fulfillment of an old dream that she never dared to realize. As a self-taught artist, she taught herself to paint for about 6 hours a day. (Initially still life, vegetables, fruits and various objects). She benefited from focused studies with Aram Gershuni and Gaya Yoel.  This is her first series of paintings. The works focus on the delicate tension between dream and tragedy, depicting the fragility of life.  Tragedy - The impact of war and dramatic reality is directly evident in the paintings as disasters. (In several paintings there is an allusion to the color yellow.)  The dream – expressed in trailers shining in azure skies and green landscapes symbolizing peace and freedom, and inviting to fantasize.  In her works you will find a distinct American influence, as well as an attraction to intense and dramatic chromatic color.  For the artist, the scenes she chose to paint are moments in which pain and beauty mingle, stretching the boundaries between cynicism and innocence.