Artist Statement

Yael-Lee Israeli Is a painter based in Akron, Ohio. Her current body of work uses surrealist imagery and symbolic objects to explore emotional constructs, unspoken anxieties, and the quiet rituals we create to make sense of our lives.

Each painting acts as a psychological still life where a constructed space in which materials like braids, pearls, utensils, and ribbons become metaphors for control, vulnerability, nourishment, or the lack thereof.

The paintings are vessels for internal contradictions. Israeli’s work is intuitive, rooted in personal reflection. She uses oil paint to render familiar objects, placing them in ambiguous environments. These elements exist in a state of suspension, floating, unraveling, and entangled.

She is interested in how an image can communicate feelings like guilt, grief, and healing without relying on the human figure itself. The figures are implied through gestures or fragmented forms. She draws upon dreams, memories, and symbolism to explore how the body and psyche hold onto experience. 

Email: yael.lee.israeli@gmail.com