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PAINTINGS
The Sambatyón
Kabbalagraphy
West
Indies
Spatter Paintings
The
Sambatyón
The Sambatyón series--done as large
acrylic paintings, was inspired by the
legend of a river that goes back to
Second Temple times. According to
Midrashic legend, the River Sambatyón
rages and boils and hurls stones, rocks,
and boulders into the air for six days
of the week, preventing anyone from
crossing it. With the first star on
Friday, a voice calls out, “Shabbat!”
And the river calms down and rests. The
observant cannot cross it on the day of
rest. Thus, it is impossible for anyone
to cross at any time, except for the
Messiah. The Ten Lost Tribes are to be
found on the other side. No one knows
quite where this river is to be found,
though some have claimed to have reached
its banks.
About the series, cultural arts critic
Jean Etsinger writes, “The literal, the
symbolic, and the suggestive interact
with a light touch--such as actual
footprints aligned on the banks of the
waters in ‘Who is Lost? Who is Found?
and stepping into and out of the picture
in ‘Cosmic Sambatyón.’”
For the artist and poet in everyone, the
Sambatyón is a magical river than takes
in a world of hopes, dreams, and
meanings. While it symbolizes the limits
of the human condition, there is always
the possibility of reaching the other
side, if only in one’s imagination.
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"Cosmic
Sambatyón"
Acrylic on
canvas
55" x 60"
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"Who is lost?
Who is found?"
Acrylic on
canvas
36" x 76"
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"Springs of the
Sambatyón"
Acrylic on
canvas
54 1/2" x 60"
"On the Brink"
Acrylic on canvas
54" x 60"
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Kabbalagraphy
Kabbalah is the
mystical aspect of Judaism. It’s a
millennial tradition and literature
dealing essentially with the
attributes of the divine, with the All
or Nothing, with creation, and with
the dialectics of the cosmos.
According to Kabbalistic tradition,
the twenty two letters of the Hebrew
alphabet are the creative keys to the
cosmic sequence: letters, words,
things.
Ktav
ashuhri, the printed Hebrew
alphabet, is used in traditional texts
and illuminated manuscripts. In my
work, I use a mix of print and cursive
script for its inherent design and
meaning, both metaphysical and
contemporary. “Kabbalagraphy”
is what I call this combination of
calligraphy, Kabbalistic motifs, and images of modern
physics. |
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"Creation #2"
Mixed media on
paper
22" x 15"
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"Creation #1
Mixed media on
paper
22" x 15"
"Big Bang"
Acrylic on canvas
59" x 64"
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"Shin"
Watercolor and
ink on paper 8" x 11"
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"Daat" (Knowledge)
Watercolor and ink
on paper 8" x 9" |
"Daat" #2
Mixed media on paper
measurement not known
"Yesod"
(Foundation)
Watercolor
and ink on paper
17" x
14"
Kaballah
#2
Mixed media on
paper
16" x 14"
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*
"Sefirot"
dated 5752
(1992)
Watercolor
and ink on paper
10" x 14"
* "Birth of Shin"
dated 5752 (1992)
Watercolor and ink on paper
15" x 13"
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West Indies
In my West Indian
paintings, I use bright, primary
colors and maritime motifs, steel
drums, tropical vegetation,
architectural gingerbread....
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"West Indies,
steel pan"
Acrylic on canvas
46" x 55"
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* "West Indies,
cruise ship"
Acrylic on board
36" x 36"
“Frenchtown Caribe”
Acrylic on canvas
3 feet x 4 feet
* "Frenchtown"
Acrylic on canvas
13” x 11”
"Island scene"
Mixed media on paper
12" x 9"
signed by "Jack Alchemy"
* Untitled
Mixed media on paper
15" x 17"
"Rasta dreaming #1"
Mixed media on paper
13" x 15"
* "Rasta dreaming #2"
Mixed media on paper
13" x 9"
"Fisherman dreaming"
Mixed media on paper
17" x 15"
Island profiles
Acrylic on board
Approx. 2' x 1 1/2'
Island Profile #5
Acrylic on canvas
9" x 12"
Island Profile -- "Poem"
Acrylic on canvas
9" x 12"
Island Profile #3
Acrylic on canvas
9" x 12"
Island Profile #2
Acrylic on
canvas
9" x 12"
Island Profile -- "Rock Happy"
Acrylic on
canvas
9" x 12"
* "No comet. Sleep makes love to me"
Mixed media on paper
14" x 16 1/2"
signed by Jack Alchemy
4/8/1997, St. Thomas
* water
damaged, 2017
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Spatter
Paintings
Untiled paintings, acrylic on paper.
Spatter technique using stencils, string,
found objects.
17" x 15"
17" x 15"
13 1/2" x 10 1/2"
10 1/2" x 13 1/2"
10 1/2" x 13 1/2"
Drip and spatter paintings on paper, mixed
media.
12" x 9"
9" x 12"
9" x 12"
"Poem"
12" x 9"
"Poem"
9" x 12"
"Art Origins"
9" x 12"
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For more artwork:
Drawings/sketches.
Sketchbook.
Cartoons.
Etchings and
vinyl cuts.
Monotypes:
Four
Seasons/Poem Series,
Aleph
Series,
Subway
Series.
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