Colors of the Middle East

The title words are the name of the two Israeli artists’ exhibition. Lviv is now seeing canvasses by the Israeli couple of Anna Zarnitskaya and Adrian Zhudro for the first time.

Zarnitskaya is a native of Irkutsk, while Zhudro was born in Belarus. They have been living in Israel since mid-1990s. Art critics say the two are as indivisible and mutually complementary as yin and yang. Zarnitskaya’s paintings prompt comparisons with an unbridled storm of passions. Her style employs intense, bright, shrill colors, impressing the viewer by interacting pairs of contrasting complementary pure colors – red and green, orange and purple, yellow and blue – as well as sharp rhythms and dynamic brushwork.

Zhudro’s paintings are filled with soft, calm feelings. He puts every detail of his paintings at its place with millimeter precision. This is especially noticeable in his pictures of Jerusalem. Zhudro does not invent or embellish anything, allowing the viewer to see the genuine natural beauty. As stated at the opening ceremony, “For Zarnitskaya and Zhudro, Israel is not only their place of residence, but also the subject, mood, and inspiration of their creative work.”