Past Shows at the OCJAC: February 2008
"Talmudic Abstractions" by Marc Salz
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Over the past few years, my shaped paintings on wood have taken on the format of the Talmud with its main central text accompanied by various side arguments made by scholars and rabbis. These paintings are not concerned with the Talmud's meaning but they do seek to relate to the way it presents debates on single aspects of Jewish law. They are abstract paintings where the written words have been transformed into contradictory colors and images. The central text has been replaced by a central wood panel with different smaller side panels. Some of those panels act in harmony with the central one while others are dissonant in their colors and shapes. I am interested in the visual interaction of these parts to the center and see parallels with the interactive "windows" on the single computer screen. Many of my paintings contain images of the basic elements such as earth, water, fire, stars and embryonic forms. |
Yad b'Yad" [Hand In Hand] by Joshua Stulman
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In my latest series entitled "Yad b'Yad" [Hand In Hand], I examine the proactive Jewish belief that hands are the vehicles for the physical manifestation of one's words and thoughts- that the value of social actions increases when put into practice. The series is painted in monochrome to heighten attention to the quality of light and its intrinsic value as a metaphor for the internal quest of personal understanding. While one may not have access to all the iconography, historical or cultural references that appear both subtly and overtly in my paintings; it is my hope that the nature of interpretation in the mind's eye of the viewer will allow one to discover their own meaning. |