ART  INSIGHT   from  Galleria  Dante!

At only 51, Israel Zzepda has already been a professional artist for more than half his life. He has been painting and drawing for more than 35 years, but also sculpts. Israel’s body of work is remarkably large given his age, but when you consider he became an apprentice at the age of 15 and a full-time art teacher at the age of 19, it isn’t so surprising. He taught both art and fashion illustration for more than 13 years, and, as a teacher, he has influenced many young artists, including several members of his own family.

There is a sensitivity, innocence and refined discipline about Israel. His work explores religious, spiritual, sexual and existential realms, reflecting truths and questioning established thinking, and he is not afraid to express himself. “The artist is a reflection of daily life. I want to be a chronicle of my time,” says Zzepda, who seeks to reflect his own unique style and honesty in all of his work.

In his approach of the human figure, texture plays an extremely important role. Instead of painting photo-realistic portraits, he sacrifices the perfection of the human figure in hopes of revealing part of the shared human experience that resides within him. “We are all good and bad, we construct and we destroy, we are of light and somewhat dark, journeying daily through the streets of the planet.” Israel’s imaginative capacity is, perhaps, the most dominant striking feature of his work.

Israel has also painted more than 1000 meters of murals, both public and private, in Cancun, Uruapan, Michoacán and Jalisco. In addition, he completed 7 murals in Sardinia, Italy, in 2011. He also participated in a collective show in Turin, Italy, on March 15th, 2014. He is also working on a new conceptual art project that delves into human and social justice in the setting of globalized power and its effects on ecological consciousness and human rights. Every 6 months the gallery receives new works that over reach our wildest expectations. His latest work, represents a new cycle of creative production and personal growth for Israel, and we are all very anxious to see where it leads.

Galleria  Dante

BASILIO BADILLO 269