Amir Shefet

Gordon Gallery is pleased to present the opening of Even a Single Flower, a solo exhibition by painter Amir Shefet. The exhibition presents a curated selection from Shefet’s extensive body of work created over the past five years, during which the artist focused exclusively on painting flowers.

Shefet’s paintings employ a diverse range of painterly languages - from realism to expressionism, incorporating elements of pop art and naïve painting. His depictions range from botanically accurate flowers to those drawn with childlike simplicity. Drawing inspiration from a broad spectrum of art history, Shefet references artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Odilon Redon, Alex Katz, and Cy Twombly, as well as classic mosaics. This wide range of answers to the question “What does a flower look like?” reflects endless ways of seeing the world.

Flowers, often present at life’s significant moments - from weddings to funerals - serve as witnesses to our joys and sorrows. This exhibition underscores their role as a timeless symbol, akin to painting itself, in their connection to beauty and vulnerability. Shefet’s work balances the inherent beauty and sweetness of flowers with the concept of Vanitas, symbolizing the transient nature of existence, while maintaining a sense of playfulness and lightness. He describes flowers as the perfect painting subject, offering “a palette of all the hues in the world.”

Shefet’s oeuvre revolves around the concept of kitsch, which he embraces as a conduit to beauty and childhood innocence. He believes that by revisiting and reinterpreting these seemingly trite motifs—flowers, butterflies, sunsets, and hearts—he can uncover their primal, innocent essence, reconnecting with the magic and mystery that have captivated artists and audiences throughout history.

“I believe in basic, simple, banal formats,” Shefet explains. “The power inherent in these formats is the reason why they became what they are. There is nothing triter than the format of flowers in a vase, to the extent that it has become virtually transparent to the viewer. I approach this format with all the painterly tools I have acquired in my twenty years of painting and with a desire to dig right there, on the busiest, most well-trodden path in the history of painting, and discover a new treasure—to make people see the flower again.”

Amir Shefet was born in 1978 in Jerusalem, Israel. He lives and works in Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud. Shefet graduated from the MFA program at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in 2013. He studied at HaTahana School of Painting, the Midrasha School of Arts, and the studios of artists Aram Gershuni and Amnon David Ar. He gained a B.A. in economics and art from Ben Gurion University. His works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Israel, including the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and are part of prominent private and public collections in Israel, France, the United States, South Africa, and Austria. This exhibition marks his first show outside of Israel.