Batia Magal

Batia Magal was born in Israel in 1953. From childhood onwards, she displayed a marked talent for drawing and an all - embracing interest in art. It is therefore not surprising that she was accepted as a student at the Avni Art Institute, where she came under the influence of such well-known artists as Streichman and Wexler, just to name a few. Her work seems to have developed along various lines, all of which converged and fused into a very personal and feminine statement. The basic calligraphic drawing of the female figure or flower-filled vase is the centerpiece which forms the structural base of the work, to which the brilliant washes of lively colors act as a counterpoint, with the deeper and warmer hues evoking the luminosity of medieval stained-glass windows. More recently, yet another intriguing factor has been added by the introduction of fabric textures and prints of a seemingly unconnected nature, forming collages in which the three elements of drawing, color and print or fabric texture, maintain a balance which tends to emphasize the works' structural composition.