Bibi Davidson

I've Had It Up To Here. . .

Acrylics, 3-D elements on wooden board

About the artist

Bibi Davidson

Bibi Davidson is an Israeli-born, Los Angeles-based artist whose illustrative-style works are allegorical representations of the chaotic and unsettling realities of her childhood. Her boldly colored narrative paintings are autobiographical and social commentary while simultaneously layered with with elements of humor. The ever-present girl in the red dress that populates many of her paintings functions as her alter ego in addition to a symbol of her inner turmoil. Through the process of painting, Davidson charms and calms her inner self. Her captivating and purposefully quirky works investigate personal and universal conflicts, as well as the chaos that defines our times.

Bibi Davidson’s most recent solo exhibition was The Girl in the Red Dress at Gallery 825, Los Angeles (2016). Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions throughout Southern California including: Laluzapalooza, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, With Liberty and Justice for Some, Walter Maciel Gallery, Fantastic Feminist Figuration at Groundspace, Personal Narrative at Annenberg Community Beach House, The Loft At Liz's, LAUNCH LA'S, Avenue 50 Studio (2017); A Feminist Perspective, MuzeuMM, Mas Attack, Torrance Art Museum, Brand Library Gallery- Let Me Talk (2016); Day Dreamers at BG Gallery, Bergamont Station, Sacred Memories, Fred Tieken Gallery, Chung King Road.

Statement:

My work inhabits an alternative, through-the-looking-glass universe I use as an escape from my history. Focusing on the fluidity of identity, the characters within my work are allegorical representations of the chaotic and unsettling realities of my life as a child. The girl in the red dress stands in as my alter ego and as a symbol of my inner turmoil. Landscapes, particularly water, are threatening elements that can be soothed by the intensity of color.

I favor symbolic, saturated colors and thick line-drawing, evoking stained glass, graphic novels, and folkloric fairy-tales. In this body of work, I use a bolder palette and move into sculptural assemblage and installation, intensifying the hyper-stylization of my earlier work. Recent experiments introduce 3D elements into the 2D space to emulate pattern and adornment, especially within the landscape elements. I use repeating shapes and distorted motifs in the form of various 3D objects such as wooden dowels, nails and buttons.

My perspective on identity is through a filter of eccentricity celebrating the choice to be strange, to be different to be your own ‘other.’ This allows me to inject elements of humor in my work when the autobiographical, interpersonal and broader social commentary get too serious.