ABOUT

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

"The concept of one's affirmation of life through the continuous process of observation is essential for my work as an artist. Images of the individual and the world that surrounds him is my primary inspiration.

The communication between the world of the imaginary and the world of the real forms a dialogue that serves as a driving force of motivation in my art work.

I choose to use broad brush-strokes in my oil paintings in order to achieve the underlying structure of the whole image. Gradually as I go on following the movements of the lines and shapes, the initial concept of the work begins to take place. The colors, their harmony and texture are integrated throughout my working process. My task is to maintain the initial inspiration." - Udita


BIOGRAPHY

Udita Leberg-Shapiro is an accomplished artist who had been widely praised for her outstanding achievements in the fine-arts by prominent artists, critics and museum directors.  Her drawings, pastels, watercolors and oil paintings have won the admiration of many collectors throughout Europe and the United States.

Udita was born in the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine. It is a land of ancient towns and villages, which are surrounded by the second highest mountains in Europe: The Carpathians. The streams, rivers, and woods of these beautiful mountains have been one of the first inspirations in Udita’s paintings.

Udita began drawing and painting at a very early age. Her first solo exhibition was held at the kindergarten, which she had attended in her native town of Uzhorod.

By the age of ten, Udita had participated in children’s exhibitions in sixteen different countries and won many awards.

In September of 1965 she had her second solo exhibition. It was held in Moscow at the Lomonosov University at the Faculty of Cultural and Humanitarian Studies. The exhibition was part of the sixtieth anniversary of the well-known children’s-book author, Lev Kassil.

A documentary film was made about Udita by the Kiev (The Ukrainian ) Film Studio.

In November of 1965 the Ministry of Foreign Cultural Affairs of USSR organized a press conference and another solo exhibition of Udita’s paintings. Her parents were invited to Moscow and were asked to bring Udita to appear in front of over two hundred foreign correspondents, where she was asked questions about her art-work. The event had been widely broadcasted on television and a documentary film was made. The piano accompaniment for the film was played by Udita.

In 1965 Udita’s paintings had crossed the Atlantic for the first time. She took part at an exhibit in Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New-York.

Udita participated at the 1967 New-York Festival of the Arts at Columbia University, and received an award.

In 1966 Udita was admitted without having to pass the entrance examinations to the prestigious Surikov Art School in Moscow.  She received a full scholarship based on her achievements and graduated in 1973.

1973-1974: studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

In 1974 Udita and her parents immigrated to the United States.

In 1977 Udita travelled to France, where she painted the sceneries of Paris, Senlis, Rouan, and the village of L’Argentiere in the mountains of Ardesh. Her trip resulted in more than fifty oil paintings and a vast amount of exquisite pastels.

Udita has been exhibiting throughout the United States since 1978.

In 1981 she was commissioned by the Twentieth Century Fox Film Studio to do two paintings for the film “Eyewitness”, starring Sigourney Weaver.

In 1985 Udita exhibited with a group of established artists in Denver. The Denver Post wrote: “Leberg, born in Carpathia in 1955 and trained in art in Moscow and Budapest, is at 30 the youngest artist in the show, but strangely her expressionist style seems to be the most stable of the group.”

In 1994-95, Udita had three solo exhibitions in New York City.

In 1998, she had a retrospective exhibition in London. It was received with much praise.

In 1999 the second successful show followed in London. Udita continued to exhibit at the galleries in Los Angeles, Atlanta and in Barcelona, Spain.

In 2002, a one-person show was held in Chelsea, New York City.

In 2006 Udita had shown a fine landscape painted with watercolors at the Garvies Point Museums and Preserve, Long Island. N.Y.

In 2008 she won an award at the Ridgewood Art Institute’s 28th Annual Regional Open Juried Show.

Currently, in addition to painting and furthering her career, Udita teaches drawing and painting to children and to adults. Udita lives and works in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

In 2008 her students had an exhibit at the Pine’s Library in the Children’s Room, and a second one in February and March of 2010.

Further education: