“Postcards from Another World” paintings at BriarPatch from December 1-30

By YoHana

The paintings of YoHana (Anicca Bat Adam) intrigue and compel. Colors and images move on canvases shimmering with texture. Self-taught, YoHana does not imitate other painters.

She appears to dip into an endless stream of mysticism, symbolism, and whimsy to create paintings marked by freshness of conception and unexpected gestures. Some have made comparison to Marc Chagall; still others to Grandma Moses. These comparisons serve to create point of references, but they cannot adequately describe YoHana’s paintings because her paintings are not derivative.

YoHana’s paintings spring from a need to communicate the synthesis of her own spiritual moments and her own moments of joy in life. These springs came be seen in paintings such as The Garden, which conjures up the rich, opulent delight of being immersed in the joyful state of the child.

The articulation of a spiritual moment can be seen in Homage to Leonardo where, as we focus on the image of the upward-directed finger of Leonardo, we are brought into contact with YoHana’s moment of realization experienced in the presence of a Leonardo painting.

Biblical references abound in the paintings of YoHana Bat Adam. Since the bible and Kabbalah have lent YoHana an abundance of signposts for her spiritual journey, she interweaves the stories and the symbols into the canvases of her paintings. Painted from the perspective of her own spiritual journey, these depictions, such as Jacob’s Ladder, are fresh, powerful, rich with that unexpected gesture that is so characteristic of YoHana’s work.

At any time in history, most artists rely on the well-trodden path of predecessors to give direction to
their work. Not so YoHana. Her paintings have a voice, and that voice is personal and persuasive: it is the outpouring of the dreams and dearly purchased spiritual realizations of a Polish-born Israeli mother,
flute player, kite maker, Sufi, Buddhist, Kabbalist and none of the above.

YoHana will give a presentation to her work on Friday, December 7 at 8 p.m. at Briar Patch 290 Sierra College Dr, Grass Valley, CA 95945

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Follow us on PinterestFollow us on Pinterest