ABOUT
Daphna Alon was born in 1968. She lives and works in Tel Aviv. A self taught artist who holds a Bachelor's degree in Textile Design (specializing in printing) from Shenkar (1997).
A painter who works predominantly with gouache and acrylics on a honeycomb board in varying sizes with epoxy coating. Her painting could be defined as figurative-expressive with influences of naïve and outsider art. In her works she creates a world comprised of extravagant figures and creatures in indeterminate spaces and places. Her works engage with the definition of "the other" and in intensifying the notion of "outsiderness" and "abnormality" as strength.
I am a self taught artist, with a Bachelor of Textile Design degree from Shenkar. I work mostly with gouache and acrylic on honeycomb board in varying sizes, which I then coat with a layer of glossy epoxy resin.
My painting style is figurative with naïve and expressionist influences that relate to illustration, outsider art and street art/urban art.
I paint primarily human figures, animals and hybrid creatures that are entirely the figments of my imagination. My figures usually have a humorist quality, yet at the same time they are also heartbreaking.
They are intriguing, aware of their outsiderness while they proudly and confidently look directly at the viewer. My works have a dimension of social critique of the capitalist, consumerist and superficial world in which we live. This critique is conveyed with a "tongue in cheek" approach and a use of strong colors and visual seductiveness in order to pull in the viewers and allow me to form a dialogue with them.
I build my chosen "tribe" which is comprised of extravagant fantastical creatures in indefinite spaces and places – always portrayed frozen in mid-movement. In my works there is a feeling of empowering "the other" and celebrating him/her as powerful and as the center of the artwork. In a way, this "tribe" is influenced by different multicultural societies and perceptions that define the center/margin in relation to diverse social perceptions in different places.
My sources of inspiration are diverse and are influenced by the history of art and artists like Rousseau, Botero, Calder, Basquiat and others.
At the same time I also draw inspiration from different references of popular culture around me and from my personal biography.
CV
Education
1997 Bachelor's Degree in Textile Design from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art.
1995-1999 Design lecturer at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art.
Textile Design Department, years 1-4.
Solo exhibitions
2015 "Sticks & Stones", Caprice Gallery, Tel Aviv
2013 "Dream", Space for Art, Jaffa
Group exhibitions
2016 Triangle Art Space, art sale exhibition
2016 Fresh Paint 8, contemporary art fair
2016 Secret Art 8, Leumi Bank, Tel Aviv
2015 Triangle – Art Space, Tel Aviv
2015 "Monsters Art", Jaffa Port Gallery
2013 "Stars & Dust", Ein Hod Central Gallery
2013 "Food Processor", Hakir33, curators: Dalit Merchav and Hila Tadmor
2013 "Miniatures", Jaffa Museum
2012 Group exhibition at the Ein Hod Central Gallery
2012 Group exhibition at Artstation Gallery, Tel Aviv
Art sales exhibitions
2015 "Imagination" art sale, Bank HaPoalim
2014 "Bread and Roses" art sale
2014 "Imagination", Bank HaPoalim
2014 "Secret Art 7", Bank Leumi
2013 "Bread and Roses" art sale, Kastiel Complex
2013 "Imagination", Bank HaPoalim
2013 "Bread and Roses" art sale, Kastiel Complex
Collections
Her works are in various private collections in Israel and around the world.