It is the natural world that provides the source of artistic inspiration for Irina Sheynfeld. On a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands she was struck by the abundance and beauty of life, preserved there because of the remoteness and absence of urban development. She conveys intense beauty and other-worldliness in her color-saturated paintings of unfamiliar birds and trees.
Although she holds two art degrees from New York City schools (BFA, Parsons School of Design; MFA, School of Visual Arts), even her portraits of ladies from the art world of past centuries have greater connection to the natural world than to contemporary city life. These ladies are at home in the greenery of gardens and rivers and forests.
Irina’s early years in the place of her birth, Odessa, Ukraine, where she was classically trained as a painter, designer and puppet maker, gave her the connection she has with early European traditions as well as her fascination with the exotic.
Irina has had multiple solo exhibitions. Her work has been included in numerous juried group shows and published by various publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine and Oxygen Media. Irina is a recipient of the COJECO’s Blueprint Fellowship and Grant.
–Thomas Cox
Unspoiled Wilderness On View January 18 – 31 Van Der Plas Gallery
156 Orchard Street 212-227 8983