ARTIST BIO

Shelly Pamensky is a mixed media artist, raised in South Africa, of Israeli origin and now working from her studio in London. She completed a Law degree in South Africa and is a self-taught artist who turned her attention to painting, after a career in the City of London.

Pamensky reduces painting to its most basic elements, creating shimmering beds of colour that seek to mesmerise the viewer with their calming balance of colour and shine.

She has sold paintings to private collectors and undertaken numerous commissioned pieces in collaboration with collectors, curators, and interior designers. She has exhibited in various group shows and Art Fairs including The Affordable Art Fair, Roys Art Fair, and The Other Art Fair. Additionally, her work has gained recognition through features in art magazine publications and online exhibitions.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My paintings are paired back to their most basic elements, creating shimmering beds of colour that seek to mesmerise the viewer with their calming balance of colour and shine. I work with raw fabrics which I prime with layers of gesso, glue, and glitter, before applying thin veils of sprayed automotive paint.

My fascination with shine extends from an impression of my youth in South Africa, during the years of apartheid, where in its isolation the going fashion was for the ladies in Johannesburg to to adorn themselves with diamanté encrusted clothing and a very glitzy appearance. I am also fascinated with the way in which the glitter interferes with and influences the subsequent layers of colour. There is a certain alchemy which occurs when spray and glitter particles fuse, that leaves a portion of the outcome to chance.

My artistic evolution has led me from creating flat colour gradients to the intricate art of weaving canvases. This transformative shift emerged from a practice of repurposing, wherein I would cut flawed works into strips, which I then rework into entirely new compositions. My call to weaving is again linked to my South African heritage where my parental home was adorned with African arts and crafts.

My methodology fuses masculine and feminine elements in my work. Glitter, weaving and paintings resembling dresses, are juxtaposed with the use of spray guns, automotive paint and flake guns derived from the male dominated automotive industry. The results can be be bold, geometric grids, or soft and playful paintings.

London / United Kingdom