JERUSALEM

 

BIO

Born in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge. Like that bridge, I had my western leg planted in American suburbia. The eastern tower was planted in the "Old Neighborhood" in NY. Yet it also tilted farther eastwards to the "Old Country" and moved back and forward in time, to Sinai and to the romance happening in far-away Israel. Without perfectly balanced tensions, that suspension bridge would topple. So too, my work is a balancing act between opposing values in Western art and Judaism, between languages, between joyful chaos and order, and between decoration and depth. I work hard to keep everyone happy.

 

Chanan was born in the USA in 1956, and immigrated to Israel in 1980. He is married with three children.

 

STATEMENT

I never saw a cypress until I was 15. That first viewed strand, located in Bab el Wad, was still littered with burnt out armored cars from the siege of 1948. It has since survived the great forest fire. Although native, cypresses were rare here until extensively planted by the early Zionist pioneers. They indeed became emblematic of the Jewish resettlement. Each of these 4 panels was influenced by a Hebrew song that has become a part of the new national canon. Each reflects the pathos of this land that I love so passionately, and which has become so entwined with my self identity. Cypresses are usually planted in groups, in avenues. So too, from a young age, I chose to plant myself within this certain community, within this certain location, becoming part of that avenue.

לוח א: בחמסין בקרה

לוח ב: באב אל וואד

לוח ג: נומה עמק

לוח ד: מארץ מרחקים נפלאות

 

Cypress / ברוש מצוי

46H x 219W cm

Gouache painting on clay coated panels