Seasonal Greetings
Autumn Seasons Greetings and for those of you celebrating Rosh Hashanah, a very happy New Year.
Here is one of the sketches which is being hung at the Jerusalem Biennale alongside my Baal Shem Tov painting 'Kaballah to Acceptance'.
My work will be on display at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem as part of Curator Vera Pilpoul's exhibition 'Not in Heaven'. The Jerusalem Biennale runs from 10th October 2019 to 28th November 2019 in various locations across Jerusalem, click here for more details and to buy tickets or you could even book on one of the Biennale tours.
The key themes I tried to explore in this work are diversity, identity, inclusiveness and exclusiveness. The composition 'Kabbalah to Avoidance' calls for tolerance and understanding in a divided world and is the precursor to a larger piece of artwork. It is based on the last remaining Romanian wooden synagogue in Piatra Neamț, dedicated to the memory of the Baal Shem Tov who retired there. I chose to represent the Baal Shem Tov, because he was an inspirational 18th Century Jewish leader who brought prayer to the people. He understood the importance of acceptance, his non-judgmental outlook influenced and molded his thousands of followers and it still has influence today. The Baal Shem Tov's followers prayed under his influence and in the picture they are encased within his wooden profile. In modernity, the various lifestyles painted on the wooden jigsaw pieces become splintered, cohesiveness is lost and individuals can fall into the abyss as they lose their identity.
We are very much looking forward to an exciting year ahead. I am showing my early synagogue work at the Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Centre, Tel Aviv from 5th January 2020 to 20th February. Please let us know if you would like to come to the preview. I will of course send you details at a later date, should you happen to be in Tel Aviv at that time. It will be great to see you there.
The catalogue for this exhibition to be published in Tel Aviv and will be written in English and Italian. It will be very interesting as it will also include some very early sketch work alongside the paintings. The Italian text is in preparation for solo exhibitions in Italy in spring and summer.
The Romanian project is making good progress, to be launched in Central London in Autumn 2020 and will move onto Tel Aviv and Romania.
Do follow me on Facebook and Instagram and you can be part of my creative journey.
Once again, wishing you all New Year Greetings.
Beverley-Jane