Chayim Shvarzblat

What do you see as strength in artistic works, both visually and contextually?

Chayim Shvarzblat: From a visual and contextual aspect, I see things visual, it is always somehow ahead and more important, the context is something that should build on it, because if there is no visual, only the context hangs, and then it is just some surrogate of painting or some other media. If the visual part is of good quality then the work of art is communicative. This can most easily be explained when for example, in a museum, you enter a room with a lot of work in sight and one of those works attracts you the most and asks you to look at it without having already noticed the content of the same work. So, I think the context in the works themselves is in some other way, but also it can have strength, it can make the observer aware, we can see many such visually attractive works. For example. in street art that carry a message, down to the most banal inscriptions on the walls that convey a message, which are just context and nothing more, but again they say something.

Can you tell us more about your experiences and work in the street art medium?

Chayim Shvarzblat: Although my experience in painting murals is really modest, I can say that it is really refreshing to find yourself in front of a wall several meters in contrast to a small format, with greater freedom and the ability to improvise. Certainly it is a different approach to painting on the wall than the way I used to, in detail, primarily because of the size of the format and the distance from which the work is viewed, so I just have to give up thinking about the whole. In my experience so far, there have been murals that we did as a group according to a friend's sketch and those I did on my own, some of them were orders and had a marketing role. In such situations, in some situations, the painter does not have a free hand and just literally realizes someone's vision, so my favorite ones are the author.

What and who influenced your work (fine arts, film, music…)?

Chayim Shvarzblat: There is always the influence of fine arts, from the old masters to the more recent, contemporary painters. Patterns change over time, something that was of interest to me before is no longer the other way around, some that I just went through today stop me, like Brueghel. I cannot say that any of them directly affect my work or that they can be recognized from my works, but the works of some artist attract me more than others. Here I would also mention the work of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, who attracted my undivided attention first with his films, and later with his life philosophy.

Unless you are a professional collector or experienced art connoisseur, you can make a number of mistakes and bad decisions when buying art. Here, Lakewood, New Jersey-based watercolor artist Chayim Shvarzblat, shares his tips on investing in an art painting.

Nowadays, the average customer pays much more attention to choosing a TV, phone, or other device than works of art, which in academic painter Chayim Shvarzblat’s professional opinion is a big mistake.

Namely, quality art works don’t lose value. On the contrary, their prices only increase over time and last much longer than electronic appliances, a piece of furniture or a rug. Therefore, it is necessary to be well informed and think well before investing in one.

The right and smart choice of a painting can significantly enrich your life, but also the life of future generations. In addition to checking the originality of the work (preferably obtaining a certificate), which is always a condition, Chayim Shvarzblat will outline few more important questions that you need to pay attention to when choosing a work of art, specifically a painting.

Do You Like the Painting?

If you are buying a painting for your own collection and not for quick resale and profit, this is the first and most important question to ask yourself.

When you value your own visual impression, it is completely irrelevant what someone else might say or suggest to you, or what is the opinion of various experts about the paintings. After all, you’ll be the one looking at it every day, searching for new shades, lines, hidden messages and metaphors in it.

Never Buy a Painting in a Hurry!

Just like a book or a movie, it takes some time to see and read a painting. The better the painting, the more interesting it will be to read. Just as you always return to a good novel, movie or play, a quality artwork will also make you come back and re- analyze it over and over again.

Among other things, great artists stand out from the rest by including their thought and message through their recognizable style. As a result, the work evolves over time and looks for new ways to convey its message to as many people as possible, who will often interpret it in different ways, but always recognize the author's intention to visualize his emotion and experience in his own way.

Great art leaves a lasting impression. Look for a piece that holds your attention even after you stop watching it.