Artist’s Statement: This image is an expression of the blessing over lighting the Shabbat candles, one of the three commandments specific to women (represented by the three flame-like orbs at the bottom of the painting). In keeping with the feminine directive of this painting, the platinum orb represents the feminine aspect of G‑d, the Shechina, that is always above us.
Artist’s Statement: How do I show in a painting my love for the old house where I was born? This two-hundred-year-old house in a small shtetl in Russia, which was home to several generations of my family, comes to me in my dreams. I can see the smoke coming from the chimney and smell the yummy challahs baked by my bubby in the brick stove.
Artist’s Statement: This painting was an expression of releasing grief over the murder of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg in Mumbai. Mostly my paintings are of the wonders, joy and wonders of life. But life isn’t always understandable. There are times when G‑d’s truthful ways are hidden from us. The swirling brush-strokes, dark colors, and meaningful words relay the message to us that all will be revealed and understood when Moshiach arrives.
Artist’s Statement: We read in the Torah several times that the Ten Commandments were written on "luchot haeven" - "tablets of stone." Wouldn’t once be enough?
The reason it's mentioned a few times is to teach us that the holy Torah is inextricably bound with the physical world. The most exalted and sublime is one with the most common and coarse. The Torah is to light our lives absolutely, from top to bottom.
Painting is a medium which takes sediment of the earth, pigments of different colors, and asks them to breathe and pronounce spirit. By seeking to elevate my painting to “an object of Torah,” I am striving to link the lowest with the highest. May G‑d save me from stumbling in this holy task.
