At first glance, Ilana’s lively and colourful paintings have a deceptive naivite. On closer examination however, the strangely piercing expressions of the characters and the intriguing composition imbue them with an unexpected emotional impact. This results in a strong sense of meaningful engagement between the viewer and the painting. Ilana explains: "Whenever I approach a new canvas, I begin with unguided strokes and allow the composition to simply emerge. The figures that survive on canvas are those which I myself connect to. Sometimes I ask myself : Who are these characters? Do they look like me? Is this me, or the one I would like to be?”

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The characters who seem so central to Ilana’s powerful and expressive works are only part of the story.  She says: “The lines and the colours aren’t the means to an end but are the end in itself…" While our natural instinct is to view lines and colours as the instruments that build a painting, she uses graphic shapes and figures as the means of creating and emphasising the interplay between colours. "I am looking for the harmony and composition between lines and colours, that's my playground, my working material, my language…"

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An Israeli poet, Shaul Tchernichovsky, who Ilana admires, said that we are nothing but the image of the landscape of our youth. Although she was born in Israel, Ilana spent six formative childhood years in Africa, and her parents' love for the vibrant street markets, the local art and culture, the colourful masks, and the endless stories were an intrinsic part of her creative education shaping her inner world. Ilana has transformed these images and ideas into a unique artistic language which combines with other influences including Aboriginal art, Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the naïve and natural works from her own children before they learned the rules of conventional art.

Ilana’s work never begins with the visualisation of an idea or statement; rather they grow in an organic process that leaves room for random and unexpected occurrences. She believes that although an artist may attribute their own meaning to a work it should be left to the viewer to interpret it through their own subjective and individual experience.

Born in Israel in 1968, Ilana Gal has now been painting for two decades. She began to study at the School for Graphic Design in the Israel Valley, but her teacher encouraged her to devote herself to painting. Although she followed his advice, her training influenced her style and graphic elements still inform her images.

Ilana's work has been the subject of numerous successful exhibitions all over the world.