Nirit Takele is a bold colorist, building up faceted figurative bodies through the application of near abstract flat forms. With a sharp understanding of the power adjacent colors impart upon one another, her figures pop from the canvas, with vivid dimensionality. She explores her cultural heritage in her works, illustrating the everyday life of the Israeli Ethiopian community.

In this work, “After Friday Prayer”, Takele paints a family portrait. Three generations, dressed in white, pass bread from hand to hand. The women, visually defined with colorful bands on their collars and sleeves, take the central place in the group, while the men surround them, engaged either in the women’s action or their own conversation. Color connects them. An undulating line of red and orange ties the figures together, running through their robes, reminiscent of the Bloodline in the contemporary Chinese family portraits of Zhang Xiaogang. Takele’s composition highlights the roles of the family figures. In conversation with the long arch of art history, mother and child take a central role in the composition, lit from another source than the other family figures, a warm light highlights their dresses. The middle generation, given distinction and individuality with defined facial features, is the generation that defines the family – the immigrants building a new life in Israel.

Nirit Takele, born in Ethiopia in 1985, immigrated to Israel in 1991 in “Operation Solomon”. She holds a B.F.A from Shenkar College. Her works are included in prestigious public and private collections including the Israel Museum, Start, and Shenkar College.