Shlomo Tuvia
Artist
Shlomo Tuvia is a Los Angeles-based painter whose work exudes presence. Born in Israel, Tuvia grew up in the small town of Rehovot, where his mother and father were both deaf. Unable to share his stories verbally, Tuvia’s father would draw pictures to articulate his thoughts and feelings. As soon as young Tuvia was able to hold a crayon, he too began using art as a means of communication. It is due to this unique upbringing that art became the vehicle for true expression in his life. Tuvia draws on a rich autobiographical past and utilizes expressionist renditions to navigate his tumultuous inter-family history. Painting such as Deaf Gestures reflects on personal discourses around post-war trauma and the lack of language to address the atrocities of man. However, Tuvia channels his family’s tenacity, as Holocaust survivors, to confront grief and hardship with unwavering optimism. Shlomo Tuvia’s career spans international exhibitions, including New Works in Los Angeles (2016), The Golden Show at Shlomo Tuvia Gallery in Malibu (2017), the BMW Art Exhibition in Osaka, Japan (2018), and Art Aspen 2018 in Aspen. His work has also been included in the KAG Permanent Collection in Kobe and Osaka, Japan. He currently lives and works in Malibu, seamlessly intertwining his creative expertise with his passion for artistic exploration.
The visual language in Shlomo Tuvia’s work is weighty but necessary. His art grapples with the human condition in its various forms, with the physical relationship between subject and environment eliciting a feeling of tension. The use of light and shading is an evocation of the chiaroscuro style seen in Renaissance painting. This contrast acts twofold, bringing forth a sense of dramatism while creating the illusion of a three-dimensional scene. Tuvia’s series highlights the notion that specific experiences transcend the everyday and fortify the bonds we all share. These feelings presented are within us all, and being able to see them in their purest form—when words do not suffice—can be cathartic. His compositions, though modern in nature, deal with themes that are timeless and accessible to people from all walks of life. This series represents who we are honestly and depicts the tenet of interconnectedness, which is essential to humanity.
