As a young girl, Shira Barzilay fell in love with the smells of paint and turpentine wafting through the air of her aunt’s studio. With a love for storytelling, Barzilay explored various avenues of self-expression. Following her studies at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, the young artist embodied a ‘more is more’ aesthetic. Over time, she understood that though her work, she could say more by doing less. Her journey began to manifest as she incorporated a subtractionist methodology to her work. “Minimalism is not about being economical, it’s about precision,” explains Barzilay.
At the start of her newfound appreciation for minimalism, Barzilay endured growing pains of removing elements from her work, until she reached a point where the initial draft didn’t consist of many lines to start. Using Picasso as her guiding light, Barzilay shares his belief, “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” Barzilay primarily creates digital prints, in an attempt to reveal the unseen.
Three years ago, Barzilay was commissioned by a close friend to draw a digital portrait as a wedding gift. Since then, her on-the-spot portraiture using just a tablet and printer, she has collaborated with Chanel, Anthropologie, Facebook and Amazon. Thanks to Instagram, the Koketit community spans across the globe and includes Mexico, Finland, and Afghanistan.
