Bibi Davidson

Red. The color of flames, winter sunsets in LA, Valentine’s hearts, brake lights burning on the freeways at rush hour. And the ruby richness of artist Bibi Davidson, whose favorite color is red. Her entire palette is vibrant, pulling viewers into her intriguingly whimsical world.

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Los Angeles artist Bibi Davidson creates not just compelling color, but an entire world with recurring characters, amusing narratives, and insightful if mysterious glimpses of the interlocking worlds of childhood wonder and adult insight. Davidson says she wants her viewers to see the humor in life, humor necessary to existence, or “we would all die of sorrow.” Her paintings absolutely provide amusing and charming views of the world, as if seen through the eyes of a supremely wise child, as sensitive as she is brilliant.

“I probably started my ‘career being an artist’ when I was 4 years old, looking at an illustration of a girl on a book cover and trying to draw it myself,” Davidson relates. “I was extremely shy and socially odd, and through my paintings I could tell my stories, express my opinions, and let my imagination go free.”

While her talent has grown exponentially since those days, her free-roaming imagination seems not to have changed. Also unchanged: her unique perspective on the mysteries, fears, and joys of youth, and her ability to portray them in paintings that are the visual equivalent of a graphic novel or an evocative poem.

“I really want to tell people how I feel and think, hurt and long, what happened to me in the past and what is happening now. I paint my stories as a writer tells his stories, and I would like to share my tales with people so they can relate them to their own life events,” she asserts. “We are all people, we go through similar feelings, we hurt and laugh the same.”

Not only does each painting tell a story, each painting is a metaphor for something deeper that grows from within the story, something primal, intimate, and pure.

“Growing up was not an easy task for me. I couldn’t wait to become an adult. My art was my only quiet place to hide,” she says. It was difficult for Davidson to keep her passion for creating art burning brightly. “As in many households, I was supposed to be practical, get married and have kids, and maybe be an accountant. But one is born to a certain talent or passion which is in his or her genes, past life, or the influences of the environment.” And for Davidson, that talent was her art.

She remained true to her gifts, focusing on her repeated character of “the girl,” who represents the artist herself. “For years I’d been doodling a character on every piece of paper I had. Suddenly I realized that this character was the subject of my art, and this became the ‘Stories of my Life’ series. She represents me, and sometimes she comes in other forms, like the bunny or a bird that shows up in my paintings,” Davidson notes. “My girl’s stories are my diaries, my dreams, my fears, my memories from the past and the future. Although a lot of my stories come from a painful place, I try to look at the heartaches and pains with a sense of humor.”

Along with representing the character of her girl, Davidson is drawn to color. Particularly the color red. “Colors always have been a strong stimulation for me, certain colors, like red, make me breathe easier and focus better. My hair is red, my house is red and the colors on the walls of my house are the colors that I use in my paintings,” she attests. “I love the color red.”

Currently, Davidson’s work is evolving, with her girl image and stories moving from 2D paintings into 3D sculptures and mixed media. “That’s the approach I am going to present in my solo show in October at The Los Angeles Art Association Gallery 825,” she reports. Davidson’s work will also be included in the group show coming up this Saturday and running through January 31st at MUZEUMM in downtown Los Angeles.

What else is Davidson up to? “I’d like to create my girl as a mural on a large building. I would like her to be a familiar face.”

Whether her character appears as a mural or not, certainly big things are ahead for the artist, who works out of a studio in the Beacon Arts Building in Inglewood. She is also actively involved in the Ten Women Co-Op Gallery, as well as exhibiting throughout the Los Angeles area, from Pasadena to Long Beach.

“I love my studio, I love to be among the other artists there. My studio now is filled with paintings and mesh, wires and hardware and pieces of wood, it’s ready for a lot of creative adventures,” she notes.

Davidson paints in oil on gessoed and sanded wood panels, drawing-in her compositions, then applying bright base colors.

In “Me and Me,” two images of the artist’s red-haired girl hold hands, wading in a green sea. The duality of feeling that the twinned girls represent evoke the inner and outer images we project in life.

Her “What?” features an emerald eyed cat looking quite sanguine as the girl peers into a brick wall exposed beneath the plaster. A dozen or more eyes hover over her. What do they and she see? What is exposed, stripped away, revealed? The piece is a literal and figurative mystery of self-observation.

And in “Naughty Cat,” the girl holds the legs of a cat as big or bigger than she, while a fantasy of fish dance between them. The surrealistic landscape – perhaps reminiscent of Magritte – is one aspect of this piece, but as with many of Davidson’s works, it is also grounded in reality. The naughty cat could be a pet after goldfish, or it could be another aspect of the girl’s personality.

Along with her autobiographical and metaphorical “girl” paintings, Davidson is also an exceptionally accomplished contemporary portrait painter, each beautifully detailed portrait filled with the same vibrancy of color that is her signature.

For a taste of Davidson’s work, visit the group show starting Saturday, January 9th from 6 to 10 pm at MUZEUMM 4817 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90016.

• Genie Davis; Photos: Jack Burke and artist’s website