Looking Through, ca. 2010

Acrylic on Canvas
19 1/2 × 15 1/2 × 1 in | 49.5 × 39.4 × 2.5 cm
This is a unique work
This work includes a Certificate of Authenticity

Shlomo Alter was born in Romania to a family of restaurateurs. He immigrated to Israel in 1948 and during high school he started to study painting under the well-known artist Aaron Avni. Some of his early works appeared in UNICEF’S world touring exhibition of young artists.

Alter’s works are influenced by his early recollections of the well-dressed people who gathered in the courtyard of his parent’s restaurant in Bucharest to eat and drink, to dance of Gypsy bands, and to enjoy the convivial atmosphere. With a touch of optimism and good humor Alter’s art reflects life at its core, an antithesis to the Nazi regime that shattered his childhood happiness. His paintings are like stage set on which the objects relate to each other through a glow of colors and lines – a frozen moment in time, a dynamic stillness prior to a burst of action.

His style can best be compared to that of the Expressionists. He uses color to give direct expression to his ideas in influence by the famous, particularly Matisse and Duty.